Jewish Survivors of Sexual Violence Speak Out

CALL TO ACTION: Abolishing the Statute of Limitations on Child Sexual Abuse

2009-01-10T18:00:00.009-06:00

The following seven part series of videos were filmed at Cardozo School of Law on September 25, 2007. The event was organized by Prof. Marci Hamilton.

Part 1
Prof. Marci Hamilton
Paul R. Verkuil Chair in Public Law

Tony Lembo
Author of the Hopeville Fire Department

Pat Serrano
Mother of a Survior of Clergy Sexual Abuse

Part 2
Vicki Polin, Founder/CEO
The Awareness Center, Inc.

Matt Contay, Founder, CEO
Child Victims Voice

Part 3
Joseph Byrnes
SNAP - New York State Leader
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priest

Part 4
Margaret Markey
New York State Assemblywoman

Part 5
Senator Karen E. Peterson
State of Delaware

Part 6
Honored Guest in the Audence Mentioned include:
Barbara Blaine, MSW, JD
Founder/President - SNAP

Anne Barrett Doyle
Bishop Accountability

John Salveson
SNAP Philadelphia - Chapter Head

Tammy Lerner Philadelphia
SNAP Philadelphia

Charles Gallagher
Assistant District Attorney - Philadelphia

Marianna Sorenson
Assistant District Attorney - Philadelphia

Rabbi Yosef Blau
Mashgiach Ruchani
Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary
Yeshiva University

Stephen C. Rabino, JD

Michael G. Dowd, JD

Audience Members Speaking Include:
Victoria Balfour - Journalist/Advocate for Survivors
Talking About The Case of William Ayres - Child Psychiatrist

Mitchell Garabedian - Attorney for Survivors of Clergy ABuse
Boston, MA

Part 7

WARNING TO SURVIVORS - Jewish Board of Advocates For Children

2008-12-18T15:34:00.000-06:00

WARNING: Jewish Board of Advocates For Children

I was recently made aware of an orthodox group posing as advocates for children who were sexually abused.

The group "Jewish Board of Advocates For Children" is made up of those affiliated with the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA), Agudath Israel of America and Ohel. All three are problematic organizations.

If you are a parent or a survivor be aware that this new organization is more concerned with protecting the assets of various orthodox organizations then they are with advocating for those who have been abused and or protecting children.

Jewish Renewal Founder - Zalman Schachter-Shalomi on LSD and Carlebach

2008-10-08T09:18:00.003-05:00

Zalman on LSD

Zalman on "alleged" serial sex offender ex-rabbi, Shlomo Carlebach.

CALL TO ACTION: Yom Kippur and The Case of ex-Rabbi Ephraim Bryks

2008-10-07T08:14:00.000-05:00

From: The Awareness Center's Daily Newsletter
September 23, 2008

The Awareness Center, Inc.
(the international Jewish Coalition Against Sexual Abuse/Assault)
P.O. Box 65273, Baltimore, MD 21209
www.theawarenesscenter.org
443-857-5560

Ephraim Bryks

CALL TO ACTION: Demanding Herzlia-Adas Yeshurun Synagogue to remove plaque honoring ex-Rabbi Ephraim Bryks

This coming Yom Kippur will mark the 15th anniversary of the suicide of Daniel Levin, an alleged victim of ex-Rabbi Ephraim Boruch Bryks.

This is a difficult time in particular for his family and friends as Daniel's alleged sex offender who has never been brought to justice and continues to thrive and work with women and children in both the New York and Lakewood, NJ orthodox Jewish communities.

The Winnipeg Jewish community and Bryks' former Orthodox Union affiliated synagogue, Herzlia Adas Yeshurun (the site of the alledged sex crimes committed against Daniel), continue to refuse any acknowledgment or responsibility. No apology, no compassion. Only a plaque honoring Rabbi Ephraim Boruch Bryks remains on the synagogue's "Tree of Life." All Daniel has is a tombstone in a cemetery.

The Awareness Center is asking everyone to contact Herzlia Adas Yeshurun and demand they remove the plaque, and perhaps replace it with a plaque honoring the memory of Daniel Levin.

Watch the documentary "Unorthodox Conduct", which goes into details about the case against ex-Rabbi Ephraim Bryks

Contact Information:
Rabbi Tzvi Muller
Herzlia Adas Yeshurun Synagogue
620 Brock St., Winnipeg, MB, Canada, R3N 0Z4
Phone: (204) 489-6262 Fax: (204) 489-5899
e-mail: reception@herzlia.org

Child Abuse . . . . Foster Care and Adoption - When it works!

2008-09-28T14:15:00.000-05:00

Child Abuse, Foster Care and Adoption

CALL TO ACTION: Help protect children living in Washington DC

2008-09-25T12:07:00.000-05:00

From The Awareness Center's Daily Newsletter:

Help protect children living in Washington DC!

The Awareness Center supports the District of Columbia's CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE PREVENTION AMENDMENT ACT OF 2007 - B17-146

CALL TO ACTION:
Call Councilman Phil Mendelson and tell stop stalling and pass DC Bill 17-146 passed!
(202) 724-8064
pmendelson@dccouncil.us

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Adult Survivors of All Faiths Support the DC Bill - Testfying in Washington DC - June 1, 2007
The following pictures were taken on June 1, 2007, at the Executive Office of the Mayor - Council of the District of Columbia.

The Awareness Center Ask: Is David Mandel a Mandated Reporter

2008-09-25T08:05:00.001-05:00

The Awareness Center now has a blog with two videos about David Mandel, CEO of Ohel Children's Home.

CALL TO ACTION: Rabbi Benzion Twerski Caving in to Thugs

2008-09-19T16:23:00.003-05:00

From The Awareness Center's Daily Newsletter on September 17, 2008:

CALL TO ACTION: Rabbi Benzion Twerski Caving in to Thugs

Benzion Twerski, Ph.D., graduated with a Ph.D. in psychology from University of Pittsburgh in 1985. He studied in Yeshivos in Scranton, PA, Baltimore, and Jerusalem. He has been one of the leading professionals in youth-at-risk and addictions in the Jewish community.

The concept of bullying survivors of sexual violence, their family members and those who advocate for them is nothing new. It's been going on for years. The same sort of thug behavior occurred with many cases in which The Awareness Center was involved (i.e. ex-rabbi Mordechai Gafni , ex-rabbi Mordecai Tendler, ex-rabbi Matis Weinberg, etc.).

It is understandable that there are those who feel the need to cave in to the bullying behavior, yet what one must remember is that be doing this allows sex offenders to go free -- leading to the creation of more individuals (adults and children) who will become survivors of sex crimes.

When those in leadership positions give in to this sort of thug mentality, how do they expect those who have been victimized to ever respect them?

According to statistics 1/4 of the population in the United States (including the frum community) have been sexually abused by the time they have reached the age of 18. Many believe that the lack of intervention by our rabboniom in cases of sexual violence has lead to many Jewish survivors walking away from our faith.

According to Vos Iz Neias, Rabbi Benzion Twerski, Ph.D., graduated with a Ph.D. in psychology from University of Pittsburgh in 1985. He studied in Yeshivos in Scranton, PA, Baltimore, and Jerusalem.

If Rabbi Benzion Twerski is one of the leading professionals in youth-at-risk and addictions in the Jewish community, how is it he could cave into the pressure of those who defend sex offenders? Why is it that he did not call the police and report the treats?

Healing can not occur in our communities when our leadership are to afraid to stand up and protect those who need them the most.

Please call Rabbi Benzion Twerski and let him know how you feel about the message he sent out to all survivors of sex crimes and also to those who use bullying and extortion to protect sex offenders.

Vicki Polin
Executive Director - The Awareness Center
www.theawarenesscenter.org

-------------------
Brooklyn, NY - ‘Shame,’ And Community Not Ready to Listen Led to Dr. Twerski’s Resignation. Hikind: “I Will Not Stop”
Vos Iz Neias?
09-17-2008

Benzion Twerski, Ph.D., graduated with a Ph.D. in psychology from University of Pittsburgh in 1985. He studied in Yeshivos in Scranton, PA, Baltimore, and Jerusalem. He has been one of the leading professionals in youth-at-risk and addictions in the Jewish community.
Brooklyn, NY - New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind pledges to press on with an effort to end child sexual abuse in the Orthodox community despite the sudden resignation of the leader of his newly formed task force.

“If you have a conscience, how can you not address this?” Hikind told The Jewish Star after Rabbi Benzion Twerski, a clinical psychologist, announced his resignation on Sept. 10, less than a week after Hikind tapped him to lead the task force. “I am committed to those in pain. I will not stop.”

In an hour-long interview, Rabbi Twerski stated that he resigned because he felt that his adult children were being pressured from within their Chasidic community over his public dealings with the issue of sexual abuse. He said his children asked him to resign.

“You have to be moser nefesh, not someone else’s nefesh,” Rabbi Twerski said. “I don’t have it at my discretion to force my children to live in shame.”

Rabbi Twerski clarified that he had not been threatened, as reported in The Jewish Week.

“If anyone made any threats that involved my safety, I didn’t hear a word of them,” he said. “I felt threatened and my feeling of threat is based solely on my family living what they feel is a life of shame.”

He said that he spoke to The Jewish Week via a series of brief e-mails and stressed he used the word prosecuted, not persecuted.

“I was judged,” he said. “I always felt safe to walk the streets.”

An email from Rabbi Twerski quoted in The Jewish Week reads, “to protect myself, my family, and my reputation, I decided to withdraw from the project.”

Rabbi Twerski voiced concern to a reporter about the public nature that Assemblyman Hikind’s crusade has taken, which may have been a factor in his resignation.

“Maybe we’ve misjudged what the community is ready to listen to. There may have been some expectations that the community is ready and it’s just not ready yet. It’s not because we’re trying to protect molesters. I think it has a lot more to do with the fact that we’re dealing with a sensitive issue and you need to discuss it in a way that’s sensitive,” Rabbi Twerski said.

Another therapist, who requested anonymity, said that he had received threats because of his activities concerning child abuse in the Orthodox community. He is Orthodox, lives and works in the Five Towns and treats patients across the spectrum from Charedi to Modern Orthodox. His children were threatened, he said, with not being accepted into yeshivot or for shidduchim, and he was threatened with financial ruin.

“There is this situation where there is this virtue police trying to dampen down reality and say it doesn’t exist,” the man told The Jewish Star.

Reformers in the Orthodox community so far have faced an uphill battle.

“There is a problem in our community in which people who try to address issues that the community has swept under the carpet are intimidated by a sensibility … that anyone who tries to change the status quo is a threat,” said Dr. Asher Lipner, a psychologist who works in the frum community.

The mission of the new taskforce is to collect information concerning suspected child molesters and to make that information available to schools. The taskforce also intended to develop a protocol to deal with sexual abuse in the Orthodox community. In Rabbi Twerski’s words, the mission was to develop a policy “sensitive to secular law [and] to Shulchan Aruch,” that could be presented to the rabbinical leadership.

Hikind said that Rabbi Twerski would be replaced.

According to Hikind, a sexual abuse hotline he set up has been inundated with callers telling stories of abuse inside the Orthodox community –– perpetrated, the callers say, by rabbis, teachers and community members. His office has also met with accused pedophiles, since most victims in the Brooklyn community are afraid to press charges for fear of social stigma.

“If you’re a child molester, the best community to come to is Borough Park, Flatbush, Lakewood or Monroe. Your chances of being arrested are much smaller because people don’t press charges,” Hikind said. “Even if a rabbi gets kicked out of a yeshiva for doing things, he goes to another yeshiva. No one does anything about it.”

While he would not name names or reveal other details, Hikind says some of the cases his office is dealing with have come from the Five Towns and Far Rockaway. He also said he met with a number of Long Island-based therapists to discuss the issue.

Some therapists told The Jewish Star that there are some distinctions between the cases occurring in the Five Towns and ones in Brooklyn.

“In terms of my own practice, a lot of the cases in Brooklyn center around teacher/rebbe student abuse,” said Gavriel Fagin. He is a forensic social worker and adjunct professor at Yeshiva University’s Wurzweiler School of Social Work, who lives in Woodmere but maintains a practice in Brooklyn.

“The situations that I’ve been involved in the Five Towns, by and large, have been with older community members with younger community members. That could be a 17-year-old with a 9-year-old; a 25-year-old with an 1-year-old. But it has not been a teacher-student interaction,” Fagin said.

Norman Blumenthal, a psychologist affiliated with Chai Lifeline and North Shore-Long Island Jewish Medical Center, declined to comment on specific cases, but said: “I think we have to sit down with rabbis and educators and work this issue into the curriculum. We have to teach children to protect themselves. The corollary to that is that we also need to teach our children how to deal with their sexual urges and how to address them because we’re not really addressing that. We need to start talking to them about a Torah perspective on sexual urges and expressions.”

Hikind is confident that once the taskforce’s work is presented to rabbinical leaders, they will act.

“I’m not saying we’re going to solve the problem, we’re going to make a difference,” Hikind said. “When you get one pedophile off the street, do you know how many children you save?”

Convicted Sex Offender - Rabbi Michael Ozair Living in Thailand

2008-07-15T21:04:00.001-05:00

Sex-Offenders' Haven? Convicted Sex Offender Rabbi Michael Ozair Residing in Thailand, A Mecca of Pedophiles.
© (2008) Vicki Polin, MA, LCPC, NCC

Photo from Sex Offender Registry / Facebook Account Photo

Towards the end of May, a member of The Awareness Center happened to stumble upon convicted sex offender, Rabbi Michael Ezra Ozair’s Facebook account.

When I was informed I immediately looked at Ozair’s site. I was stunned to see that most of his “friends” appeared to be teenage girls from Thailand, China, Israel and a few from Los Angeles. Rabbi Ozair did have a few adult friends listed (mostly male), several of whom were individuals in which The Awareness Center had been watching, due to worrisome information about them.

Considering Michael Ozair is a convicted sex offender and it appeared that he might be using his Facebook account to groom teenage girls, a report was made to the IC3 (The Internet Crime Complaint Center).

The fact that removing an account from Facebook is not the answer to the real problem, because Ozair -- like many other convicted sex offenders can easily create another account using another name within in minutes of an account being terminated. Nonetheless, it was hoped that his account closing would send a message that his behavior was being monitored.

Over the last few months several newspaper articles stated that Facebook had a policy that convicted sex offenders were not allowed to have an account with them. A note was sent to facebook with all the necessary information. At the time I thought the problem would be solved easily. I was wrong.

The next day I received a note back from Facebook asking for more information regarding Michael Ozair and was asked for a direct link to the sex offender registry in which he was listed. I went to both the California and National sex offender registry -- Michael Ozair was not listed. I had no idea what was going on and started to dig. After several phone calls and e-mails to law enforcement in Los Angeles, I learned that Ozair was no longer listed in a way in which he was easily found. Each state has its own protocols in how their registry works. Unfortunately, since Michael Ozair is currently registered as living outside the United States -- in Thailand, his profile is not easily accessed.

My contact at the LAPD forward Michael Ozair’s most updated registration to both the contact at Facebook and to me. I thought this would be all that was needed and Ozair’s account would be closed.

I didn’t hear anything for a few days and kept checking to see if Ozair’s account was removed. The entry was still there. I recontacted Facebook and they stated there was some technical difficulties with the police officer’s e-mail and that the officer would need to send the information to a different e-mail address and was asking for more information besides a copy of the sex offender registration.

On July 3, 2008, I finally received a note stating “After reviewing the reported abuse, we have removed all offending content based on our Terms of Use.”

If it weren't for the many hours communicating with Facebook and the LAPD, Michael Ozair’s account would have remained open -- Meaning this convicted sex offender would have maintained full access to teenage girls on Facebook.

I’m still bewildered with the reality that a convicted sex offender would be allowed to move to Thailand, especially considering it is known to be a haven for sexual predators. It’s also known as one of the worst countries when it came to the human sex slave trade.

Rabbi Michael Ozair’s case shines a light on a deeply worrisome phenomenon -- several American convicted sex offenders are moving to places like Thailand, China, India, Israel, etc. -- all known Mecca's for child predators to most likely continue creating more victims. As Americans we need to be concerned with not just the safety of our children, but the children of the world. Without a federal policy in place, American sex offenders will continue with this trend.

Click here: for more information on the case of Rabbi Michael Ozair

Vicki Polin, MA, LCPC, NCC is the Founder and CEO of The Awareness Center, the international Jewish Coalition Against Sexual Abuse/Assault.

A Cry For Help - Update on the Case of David Kramer

2008-07-14T19:33:00.004-05:00

© (2008) The Awareness Center
July 14, 2008

(St. Louis) June 26, 2008 -- David Kramer pled guilty to 2 counts of sexual molestation of a minor and was sentenced to 7 years in prison.

Below is a portion of the remarks made by the victim's father as part of the Impact Statement that was stated before the judge. The father felt that these remarks were worthy for the broader Jewish community to hear.

...this sentence sends an important and much needed message to the Jewish community, and society at large: namely; there shall be zero tolerance of sexual abuse and molestation of children. We the parents, leaders and clergy have to stand up for our children, and put our children first. Certain rabbis can't continue to shield predators. Parents have to report predators who assault their children. People in the Orthodox community must know: molestation is wrong and evil. Instead of the focus being on raising money for high priced attorneys to defend the predators --- let's support our children and put them first.

As a reaction to the case of David Kramer, Rabbi Ze’ev Smason was involved in the creation o of 'Our Precious Children' -- a non-profit organization dedicated to helping Jewish survivors of child sexual abuse in the St. Louis area.

Rabbi Smason shared:

I was stunned both by the community resources and money that were gathered and collected for David Kramer and his defense fund AND the deafening silence when it came to verbal and monetary support for the child survivor, his family, and Our Precious Children. The family told me that every morsel of support that they did receive, though, was greatly appreciated. Now that the sentence has been handed down, we're all hopeful that there's a degree of closure and the child survivor and family can move on.

There are other cases of sexual abuse and sex offenders here in our community. The obstinance of parents and clergy is stunning. For example, I warned one family who often hosts a certain “alleged” sex offender who was kicked out of his home by his wife. The husband of this host family said, 'we'll continue to keep having him over as a guest. I watch him carefully, and he doesn't show any interest in my children.' In another case, a family I know whose daughter was molested didn't report the abuse because ''our rabbi told us not to report it."

The needs of the survivor and family require support both for rape crisis counseling, as well as encouragement from the community to let the survivors know that they are not alone.

The Awareness Center often hears similar stories shared by Rabbi Smason in Jewish communities throughout the world.

Both The Awareness Center and Our Precious Children need your help so that we can continue to do the work we do.

New York Bill To Help Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse

2008-07-11T07:23:00.001-05:00

Markey's Bill Extends Time For Child Sex Assault Victims To File Suit
BY JOHN TOSCANO

Queens Gazzette

June 25, 2008

Enactment of Markey's legislation would mean that a child victim would have until the age of 28 to seek prosecution.

The state Assembly has passed a bill introduced by Assemblymember Margaret Markey which grants victims of child sexual assault a longer period of time to press charges by extending the statute of limitations for criminal and civil actions for these offenses.

Explaining the purpose of the legislation, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver stated: "Child sexual assault is a horrific, painful crime that leaves a lifetime of scars. The goal of this legislation is to ensure that victims who have been forever traumatized must have every available opportunity to seek justice."

Markey said that the cornerstone of the legislation is a provision that would give persons for whom the right to bring a civil action has been foreclosed under the current civil statute of limitations a one-year window from the date of enactment of her bill, regardless of the victim's age, in which to seek damages for any past instance of child sexual abuse.

Markey (D- Maspeth) explained that under current law, the criminal statute of limitations in child sexual abuse cases in which a victim does not report the crime to law enforcement or the statewide central register of child abuse is not applied until the victim reaches age 18.

Under the provisions of her legislation, Bill #4560-B, five years would be added to the statute, of limitations which is the period of time allowed to file charges for a given crime. By adding five years to the statute of limitations in child sexual assault cases, Markey emphasized, these cases would not begin to run until the victim turned age 23.

Enactment of her legislation, she said, would mean that a child victim would have until the age of 28 to seek prosecution.

Markey's bill covers both criminal and civil cases.

Pointing to the inability of many child victims to come forward before the current statute of limitations expires, Markey and Assemblymember Joseph Lentol, chairman of the Codes Committee, said her bill was a "critical means of giving victims a voice, particularly those who are assaulted by people with authority over them".

Markey noted, "When it comes to sexual assault, no person is above the law. As children, many of these victims are fearful of coming forward. This bill will provide a remedy for those whose lives have been shattered by the tragedy of childhood sexual abuse. Victims of these horrific crimes will get their day in court and be able to seek the justice they have been denied for too long."

She added, "The pain and suffering caused by child sexual assault is an issue which has left many victims struggling to recover. We must make their lives whole again. Victims must have the pain and suffering inflicted upon them acknowledged and the perpetrators must be held accountable for their acts. Only when these basic rights are accepted and addressed can victims find closure and the opportunity to rebuild their lives. We owe them the opportunity to have their voice heard."

Markey's bill now goes to the state senate for consideration.

Bill Summary

C-SPAN Showing of Marci Hamilton: Justice Denied: What America Must Do to Protect Its Children

2008-07-11T07:13:00.000-05:00

Justice Denied: What America Must Do to Protect Its Children

To watch video click on the WATCH button on the upper right hand side!

Author: Marci Hamilton

About the Program: In "Justice Denied," author Marci Hamilton discusses the current legal ramifications of child abuse and the statutes that are currently in place making it difficult for victims of childhood abuse to recieve justice. Mrs. Hamilton uses the current clergy sexual abuse scandal as an example. David Clohessy, director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), introduced Marci Hamilton. This event was held at Princeton University.

About the Author: Marci Hamilton is a visiting professor at Princeton University. She was a former clerk to Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and specializes in constitutional law and church/state relations.

UPDATE: Case of Rabbi Mordecai Tendler - New York State’s top appellate court's recent decision

2008-07-11T06:51:00.000-05:00

In Sex-Abuse Case, Court Issues Watershed Ruling on Rabbinical Duty
By Anthony Weiss
The Forward
July 10, 2008

What is a rabbi to a congregant? A therapist? A friend? A conduit to God?

These questions were taken up by New York State’s top appellate court in a recent decision that pivoted on the issue of what rabbis can and cannot do in the eyes of the law. The answers the judges gave were not definitive, but the 10-page decision does give insight into a probing debate about the role that rabbis play in society.

The debate arose in the context of the already controversial case of Rabbi Mordecai Tendler, who lost his pulpit job in upstate New York after allegedly having an inappropriate sexual relationship with a congregant.

In a unanimous decision, handed down June 25, the New York State Court of Appeals dismissed a lawsuit alleging that Tendler had abused his position to manipulate his former congregant. The court did not say that the relationship did not exist. Instead, the judges determined that Tendler had not been established to have a “fiduciary duty” to (Name Removed), the congregant in question, that would have prohibited him from such behavior.

“Fiduciary duty” is a term used to describe professional relationships that involve disparities of power and authority, such as therapist-patient, attorney-client and professor-student.

Most professions forbid sexual relationships between professionals and their clients, particularly in situations where vulnerability is an issue. For example, divorce lawyers are forbidden to have sex with clients, and a sexual relationship between a therapist and a patient is automatically considered abusive by the law. This arises out of an assumption that in each case, the professional holds a position of power over the emotionally vulnerable client.

The same might be thought to be true of rabbis, but the judges decided that it is not so clear-cut.

According to the decision, the relationship between rabbis and congregants, even one that includes “aspects of counseling,” does not automatically create a power differential of the sort that characterizes a fiduciary duty. To prove that duty, a congregant has to demonstrate that he or she became “uniquely vulnerable and incapable of self-protection regarding the matter at issue.”

Tendler has been the focus of allegations of sexual misconduct for several years. Complaints that he allegedly had sexually harassed a number of women surfaced in 2003 and were taken up for investigation in 2004 by the Rabbinical Council of America, the main organization of Orthodox rabbis. In March 2005, the RCA barred Tendler from the organization as a result of the investigation. In December 2005, (NAME REMOVED) filed a civil suit against Tendler on a number of causes, including fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and infliction of emotional distress for coercing her into a sexual relationship. The recent Court of Appeals decision dismissed the last of those complaints.

Tendler was suspended from the pulpit of Kehillat New Hempstead in February 2006. A New York State appellate court ruled on June 3 that Tendler’s dismissal from his pulpit was in violation of his contract.

(NAME REMOVED) alleged that she had gone to Tendler, who was then her rabbi, for counseling about her frustration at failing to find a husband. She claimed that Tendler had proposed a course of “sexual therapy” to manipulate her into having a sexual relationship with him, thus abusing his position as a “counselor, adviser and therapist.” (NAME REMOVED) was seeking damages from both Tendler and Kehillat New Hempstead.

The court ruled that she had not established that Tendler’s position amounted to a fiduciary relationship.

Lawyers familiar with clergy related legal issues say that in cases where clergy have abused children, such as the priest sex abuse scandal that shook the Catholic world, the legal strictures are relatively clear. But they say that the boundaries between clergy and adults are less clear, as courts try to balance the rights of consenting adults against the unique power and prestige of the clergy.

“The mere status one has as a member of the clergy and as a member of a congregation doesn’t automatically establish a fiduciary relationship,” said Mark Chopko, former general counsel for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

One reason that the law on this front is not fully settled is that these lawsuits against clergy are a relatively recent phenomenon.

“People never sued churches, synagogues or their religious leaders; it was part of the social contract at the time,” Chopko said. “You may find a handful of historical examples that go back 50 or 100 years, but for the most part, the body of law has grown up over the last 15 to 20 years.”

In recent cases, some lawyers have argued the line that the judges took in the Tendler case, namely that clergy-congregant relationships are not automatically ones with a power differential.

But other legal experts have said that the courts should recognize a clergy member’s special status, because of his or her spiritual position.

“The clergy-congregant relationship has a higher dimension of trust, because clergy have what they call ‘reverential deference.’ Because they are revered and make a claim to divinity in various forms, they enjoy a particular position of special trust,” said Jeffrey Anderson, a St. Paul, Minn., attorney who specializes in cases of clerical abuse.

In the Tendler case, (NAME REMOVED) hinted at the spiritual status of Tendler when she claimed that he told her he “talks to God all the time” and was “the messiah.” Her suit, however, steered clear of delving into the religious entanglements — territory, the judges noted, that is fraught with constitutional complications about the separation of church and state. Instead, her case focused on the counseling relationship.

The judges, however, ruled that (NAME REMOVED) had simply participated in “an extended voluntary sexual affair between consenting adults.”

Rabbis unrelated to the case said that the legal ambiguities surrounding the clergy-congregant relationship reflect the ambiguities inherent in the relations. Rabbi David Ackerman, a longtime pulpit rabbi who now works at the Jewish Theological Seminary, said he knew of several instances where rabbis married congregants. But, he said, it can be dangerous territory to tread.

“That risk is ever-present,” Ackerman said. “The rabbi has an obligation to keep a close eye on the… power balance, because there’s tremendous potential for abuse.”

Rabbi Gershon Winkler added to The Awareness Center's web page

2008-07-11T06:45:00.000-05:00

From The Awareness Center's web page

Case Rabbi Gershon Winkler

Thousand Oak, CA

Walking Stick Foundation - Cuba, New Mexico

The Awareness Center wants to stress -- to the best of our knowledge there have never been any allegations made against Rabbi Gershon Winkler of molesting children or sexually abusing or assaulting any adult women. Rabbi Gershon Winkler is being posted on our web page under the category of "Other".

July 8, 2008 -- JTA published the article " Rabbi fights sexual allegations", which is about "defrocked" rabbi, Mordechai Gafni's most recent attempt at becoming a "spiritual leader". In the article Gershon Winkler "acknowledged that he fathered a child with a student, carried on several "intimate relationships" with students over the years and said he is currently in a relationship with two women."

Winkler went on to tell "JTA that he believes it is wrong to insist on an "across-the-board" ban on sexual relationships involving rabbis and followers, teachers and students, and counselors and patients."

According to the ethical codes of every rabbinical organization and also clergy of all major religions, it is considered unethical to have sexual relations with an individual in which there is an imbalance of power. The same can be said about the eithical codes of teachers, medical and mental health professionals.

Rabbi Gershon Winkler has been accused of cult like practices.

For a list of attorney's that have experience with cases of child sexual abuse, clergy sexual abuse and or professional sexual misconduct: click here

Ramblings of "Rabbi" Mordechai Gafni in Dialogue with Luke Ford

2008-07-09T00:47:00.006-05:00

Below is a series of audio recordings of Luke Ford interviewing Marc Gafni.

FYI: "Rabbi" Mordechai Gafni confessed to having "sexual relations" with a thirteen-year-old girl back in the 1980's. In 2006 he confessed to clergy sexual abuse of adult women in Israel. After his confession he came back to the United States and has been hiding out in Salt Lake City, UT ever since.

#1 Agreement of the Interview - "Circle of Integrity"

#2 The Will of G-d and Working on Ourselves

#3 Gafni and Luke on Relationships and Sex Crimes

#4 Gafni: "On My Name"

#5 Gafni "When News Becomes Ratings"

#6 Gafni Analyzing Luke's Motives

#7 Gafni's Book - "Spiritually Incorrect"

#8 Gafni on Men and Women

#9 Great Loves - PAG ("Parents Against Gafni")

#10 Women and Sex

#11 Gary Rosenblatt and an Unnamed Rabbi - Gafni: "Not A Part of the good old boys Network (the YU Crowd)". . . "These guys want to take me down". . . "never had relations with 13-year-old girl".

#12 Gafni Describes "Love Relationships", Both minor females described as sexual abuse.

#13 Rape According to Gafni: Sexual McCarthyism v. Sexual Mistakes. Perhaps Marc Gafni can tell us where he gets the funds to hire the best attorneys?

#14 Gafni on Blogs and the Internet

What Does The Dalli Lama and Luke Ford Have In Common?

2008-07-05T22:52:00.000-05:00

What Does The Dalli Lama and Luke Ford Have In Common?
Answer: Photo opts with Rabbi Mordechai Gafni (AKA: Marc Gafni)

Luke Ford on Rabbis Saul Berman and Marc Gafni

2008-07-03T21:36:00.001-05:00

Dear Rabbis Saul Berman, Joseph Telushkin and the rest of your gang. . .

Don't you think it's about time you apologized to all of the women who have been sexually victimized by Rabbi Marc Gafni? They have been waiting a very long time for a phone call and a written statement from you. While you're at it you should also apologize to Rabbi Yosef Blau, Jewish Whistleblower Luke Ford and Vicki Polin.

Bush Believes An Israeli Convicted Sex Offender Has Been Rehabilitated - Yitzhak Mordechai

2008-06-20T07:54:00.000-05:00

Former Defense Minister Mordechai allowed entry to US
By Itamar Eichner
YNet News
May 23, 2008

Visa granted after Olmert tells US officials Mordechai rehabilitated, does not pose threat to American public despite sex offenses

Former Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai was granted a visa by the US embassy in Tel Aviv at Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's request, Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Friday.

Mordechai's initial request for a visa, which was filed some four months ago, was rejected by the Americans due to his past conviction for sexual misconduct.

However, during President George W. Bush's first visit to Israel Olmert asked a number of senior US officials intervene in the matter while taking into account that Mordechai had been rehabilitated and does not pose a threat to the American public.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak's office also turned to the Americans on Mordechai's behalf.

Meanwhile, Mordechai also filed an appeal with the American embassy, which was reportedly debated among some of the highest-ranking officials in Washington. The appeal was eventually accepted and Mordechai flew to US a few days ago for a 10-day private visit.

During his tenure as defense minister between 1996 and 1999 under then-prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mordechai was considered the darling of the US administration and was a welcome guest at the White House and the Pentagon.

Rockland Cop Accused alont with Zalman Silber - Fake Gynecologist Case

2008-06-18T09:18:00.001-05:00

The Awareness Center says:
Please note that the police officer who is an alleged perpetrator is NOT Jewish.

Police: Accused of Fake Gynecologist Had Cop's Help
CBS News
June 18, 2008

NEW YORK (CBS) — A prominent Hasidic businessman from Rockland County was arrested and charged with impersonating a gynecologist to allegedly sexually assault women.

To make matters worse, the already stunning allegation grew even more shocking when CBS 2 learned that a Rockland County police officer is accused of helping him.

The alleged incidents took place inside a building on Park Avenue between 34th and 35th streets, where women told detectives they'd been molested during what they thought was a gynecological examination.

When Manhattan sex crime detectives who work out of the same building investigated, the man they arrested turned out to be Zalman Silber, a Hasidic businessman and philanthropist who moved to Rockland County from Boro Park in Brooklyn about a year ago.

Silber's lawyer is the former Rockland County District Attorney, Kenneth Gribetz, who claims that two of the four women did not pick Silber out of a lineup.

"It was a lineup conducted with numerous Hasidic people. Mr. Silber was not identified by two of the victims. Two of the victims did do it," Gribetz said.

The Ramapo Police Department is now also buzzing because a ten-year veteran has been suspended without pay after one of the women told investigators the officer pretended to be a doctor conducting an exam while Silber allegedly watched.

Though no one would talk about this story on the record, there are hearings underway at the Ramapo Town Hall that will determine the future of the police officer.

Gribetz said there is more going on than meets the eye.

"I think the facts will come out that this was an offshoot of a very upsetting divorce that transpired in Mr. Silber's life. And what is taking place is really a disgrace, and society and law enforcement owes him an apology when all the facts come out," he said.

Postponements have caused the hearing involving the Ramapo police officer accused of posing as a fake doctor to drag on for at least four weeks. The next hearing is scheduled for tomorrow.

Regarding Rabbi Moshe Sternbuch's Guidelines for Calling the Police

2008-06-15T08:11:00.003-05:00

Regarding Rabbi Moshe Sternbuch's Guidelines for Calling the Police
© (2008) Vicki Polin - CEO, The Awareness Center, Inc.

It saddens me a great deal to read the posting on Daas Torah's blog. With all the information and education that is available to our rabbonim it appears that they are still refusing to learn from their past mistakes. I'll admit that I have never heard of Rabbi Moshe Sternbuch until I received an e-mail with the link to this blog. (Rabbi Moshe Sternbuch, shlita, senior member of the Jerusalem Beit Din Tzedek (Jewish Religious Court)

My hope by providing the following information will help to prevent one more child from being harmed and that those who are already victims of sex crimes, the will be able to receive the proper help.

It's obvious that Rabbi Sternbuch is lacking basic knowledge about sex offenders and the needs of those who have been sexually violated as children. The most important message that needs to get out is that each of us should consider ourselves mandated reporters. This basically means if you SUSPECT a child is in danger you have to call your local hotline, rape crisis center or police. You don't go to a rabbi to get permission or have them make the call. The key word here is "SUSPECT." We need to leave all the investigating and fact finding/gathering to law enforcement and not our rabbonim.

Most children don't come out and say "I'm being raped at home, school, camp and or in shul." If we suspect a child is being harmed or at risk of harm it's vitally important that we don't ask the child leading questions. It's best to have a highly trained mental health professional and or child protection worker who works with law enforcement to talk to the child to get information.

How many times do I have to remind everyone that our rabbis DO NOT have specialized training in collecting forensic evidence nor do they have the education, training or skills to do a victim sensitive interview. Going to a rav "with concerns" just doesn't work. It's much better for the individual who suspects a child is at risk of harm to call their local child abuse hotlines directly.

The concern Rabbi Sternbuch has regarding child protection workers, rape victim advocates and the police not being "sensitive to the needs and nature of the charedi community" is not true in most cases. Most professionals want to do what they can to help and understand the cultural differences. I'm sure that Rabbi Sternbuch knows this and I'm afraid to say I think that he is trying to sell a bag of goods, with his fear tactics of saying the police will not work with or understand the cultural differences.

If you live in Israel and suspect a child is being abused call:
Israel Association for Child Protection (ELI)
English: http://www.eliusa.org/home.htm
Hebrew: http://www.eli.org.il/Content/index.asp

In the US call:
ChildHelp USA
1-800-4-A-CHILD
http://www.childhelp.org/get_help/local-phone-numbers

Rabbi Baruch Lanner - WARNING TO PARENTS IN ELIZABETH, NJ (From The Awareness Center)

2008-06-15T07:57:00.003-05:00

The Awareness Center, Inc.

(the international Jewish Coalition Against Sexual Abuse/Assault)
P.O. Box 65273, Baltimore, MD 21209
www.theawarenesscenter.org
443-857-5560

Rabbi Baruch Lanner
WARNING TO PARENTS IN ELIZABETH, NJ

The goal of this warning is to protect any more children from becoming the next victim of a convicted sex offender.

Rabbi Baruch Lanner was released from prison back in January of this year. He is currently residing in Elizabeth, NJ. There has been some concerns from community members who keep spotting Lanner hanging out at a local Dunkin Donuts "with several the kids from the local school". Please warn your children to stay away from this man (see photograph below). If you spot any children or teenagers near him call 911 immediately!

Allegations surrounded Rabbi Baruch Lanner for years. The allegations include kissing and fondling scores of teenage girls in the 1970s and '80s, repeatedly kicking boys in the groin, and reports of taking a knife to a young man in 1987, and propositioning girls in 1997 at the yeshiva high school where he was principal for 15 years. He was convicted back in 2002.

For more information on Rabbi Baruch Lanner go to: http://www.theawarenesscenter.org/Lanner_Baruch.html

For more information on sex offenders go to:
http://www.theawarenesscenter.org/offenders.html

Zalman Silber Arrested - charged with third-degree sexual abuse

2008-06-15T01:17:00.000-05:00

The Awareness Center says:

Zalman Silber, a well-known philanthropist was charged with pretending to be a doctor so he could give unsuspecting women "gynecological exams," police and prosecutors said. Silber was charged with third-degree sexual abuse and unauthorized practice and professions for impersonating a doctor. He allegedly molested two women, ages 18 and 20. But police sources told the News that investigators believe he may have begun his activities in 2003.
He hired as his defense lawyer disgraced former Rockland County prosecutor Kenneth Gribetz, who stepped down after his proclivities for wearing women's clothing and a dog collar were exposed by the Daily News more than a decade ago.
Silber allegedly fooled his victims by saying the exams were part of a medical survey, prosecutors said. Investigators in the NYPD's Manhattan special victims unit believe Silber's "exams" may have started in 2003 and were checking into the possibility that there are more victims.
He was released on $10,000 bail after a court appearance in Manhattan. Gribetz told the judge his client earned more than $1 million a year.
Zalman Silber made millions in the 1990s offering tourists simulated helicopter rides around the city through the New York Skyride at the Empire State Building.
Silber moved to the Rockland County community from Borough Park, Brooklyn, a year ago, neighbors said.

Rabbi Howard Steven Axelman, MSW (AKA: Rabbi Tzvi Axelman, Rabbi Steven Axelman, Rabbi Howard Axelman)

2008-06-13T00:46:00.006-05:00

This was originally posted back on October 18, 2006. I was just made aware that the link to my e-mail address was not working correctly. They link has been fixed.

Looking for more information about Rabbi Howard Steven Axelman, MSW (AKA: Rabbi Tzvi Axelman, Rabbi Steven Axelman, Rabbi Howard Axelman)

Tzvi Axelman (2002) / Steven Axelman (2004)

Rabbi Howard Steven Axelman is a man who grew up in Baltimore, MD. He used to daven (pray) in both Rabbis Yaakov Hopfer and Moshe Heinemann's Shuls. He is an alumni of Ohr Somayach.

There have been rumors floating around in both Baltimore and Neve Yaakov (Jerusalem, Israel) that those connected with the Vaad HaRabbonim (Jewish religious court) chased Tzvi Axelman out of town due to allegations of both domestic violence and child sexual abuse. Others say Rabbi Axelman was set up by powerful and influential individuals connected to his ex-wife's family. Rabbi Axelman's ex-wife is a member of a very powerful rabbinic family.

Prior to leaving Baltimore, Howard Tsvi Axelman worked as a social worker at a local hospital and also as a scribe.

Upon arriving in Israel, Howard Axelman started going by the name of Tzvi Axelman (his Hebrew name). He lived in Neve Yaakov, which is a suburb of Jerusalem. He worked as a sofer stam (scribe) during his time in Israel.

According to several sources, prior to his death -- Rabbi Nachman Bulman stated that Rabbi Axelman was accused of molesting boys in the yeshiva. There were also eye-witness accounts of Axelman beating his ex-wife on the streets prior to their divorce.

During an ugly child custody battle, Rabbi Howard Steven Axelman relocated to Lakewood, NJ. This marks the time he began to use the name "Steven Axelman". He secured a clinical position as a social worker at a local hospital. He also began a private practice.

Today Rabbi Steven Axelman serves as rabbi at the Whitestone Hebrew Centre, Whitestone, NY (conservative synagogue). He no longer considers himself frum.

If you have any more information regarding Rabbi Howard Steven Axelman, please post it or send me an e-mail.

Rabbi Steven Axelman (2008)

Israel Hasbara Committee on the "Modesty Patrol"

2008-06-12T15:47:00.002-05:00

de-nial is more then just a river in Egypt

Israel Hasbara Committee -- "There is no official ‘modesty patrol’ and if there was it would not do things this way; the Rabbis would never condone such actions."

IHC Follow-Up
By Michelle Marcello
Israel Hasbara Committee

Subsequent to the report concerning a 14-year-old girl from the town of Beitar Illit in Israel who had acid thrown on her, the IHC checked out the story with the Beitar Illit authorities to clarify the facts. A 14-year-old girl was in fact burned by acid being thrown on her. However the police have not named a suspect. According to Moshe Friedman, Media Advisor for Beitar Illit, this was apparently a teenage brawl or attack, where youngsters (juvenile delinquents) took the law into their own hands. There is no official ‘modesty patrol’ and if there was it would not do things this way; the Rabbis would never condone such actions. There are fringe groups in every city and Beitar Illit is no exception. The municipality attempts to work with these youngsters in various settings and 90% of them are actively participating in various programs. The municipality assists them in a professional capacity, both culturally, socially and educationally. The city is not ‘partially religious and partially secular’ as reported, but predominantly religious, with quite a few ‘newly returned-to-Judaism’ families whose children are not ‘there’ yet and hence the trouble makers. 75% of these children are dealt with in specific frameworks. Approximately 100 boys and girls do not participate in these specialized settings. It is a very small percentage and should not be blown out of proportion. But this in no way justifies throwing acid in someone’s face which is a criminal act. The victim was 3 days in hospital and was said to be doing well, according to an IHC source in the town.

Canadian Prime minister apologizes to native Canadians

2008-06-11T15:26:00.005-05:00

Prime minister apologizes to native Canadians
By ROB GILLIESAssociated Press
June 11, 2008

OTTAWA (AP) — Prime Minister Stephen Harper is publicly apologizing to native Canadians who were taken from their families and forced to attend state-funded schools aimed at assimilating them.

Harper says the treatment of children at the schools is a sad chapter in Canadian history.

From the 19th century until the 1970s, more than 150,000 aboriginal children were required to attend state-funded Christian schools as part of a program to assimilate them into Canadian society.

Many suffered physical and sexual abuse.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

OTTAWA (AP) — Michael Cachagee was 4 years old when he was taken from his parents and forced to attend a state-funded school aimed at stripping him of his aboriginal culture.

"The intent was to destroy the Indian," Cachagee said of the decades-long government policy.

On Wednesday, Cachagee and more than 80,000 surviving students will receive a public apology delivered in Parliament by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

At least 200 former students have been invited to Ottawa to witness what native leaders call a pivotal moment for Canada's more than 1 million aboriginals, who today remain the country's poorest and most disadvantaged group.

From the 19th century until the 1970s, more than 150,000 aboriginal children were required to attend state-funded Christian schools, where many suffered physical and sexual abuse, as part of a program to integrate them into Canadian society.

"Aboriginal Canadians have been waiting for a very long time to hear an apology from the Parliament of Canada," Harper told lawmakers a day before the apology.

Canada's Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl said it would be a respectful and sincere recognition of widespread cultural devastation, as well as the physical trauma and sexual abuse, that continues to plague generations to this day.

The aboriginals say they are hoping it will be heartfelt.

"If it's just a hollow and shallow apology he might as well get one of the pages to do it," said Cachagee, who will have a seat on the floor of the House of Commons to hear it.

Phil Fontaine, the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, agreed that if the apology is sincere and complete it would go a long way toward repairing the relationship between aboriginals and the rest of Canada.

"The fact that we are going to be there on the floor to witness this first hand, it's quite a moment," Fontaine told The Associated Press. "This is not just about survivors, this is about Canada coming to terms with its past and maturing as a nation."

The apology comes just months after Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made a similar gesture to the so-called Stolen Generations — thousands of the continent's Aborigines who were forcibly taken from their families as children under assimilation policies that lasted from 1910 to 1970.

But Canada has gone a step farther, offering those who were taken from their families compensation for the years they attended the residential schools. The offer was part of a lawsuit settlement.

Cachagee spent 12 1/2 years at three different schools in Canada beginning in 1944.

"I was beaten. I was put in tubs of hot water. I suffered great pains of hunger. I was force fed rotten food. They called me all kinds of names," he said.

The federal government admitted 10 years ago that physical and sexual abuse in the schools was rampant. Many students recall being beaten for speaking their native languages and losing touch with their parents and customs.

That legacy of abuse and isolation has been cited by Indian leaders as the root cause of epidemic rates of alcoholism and drug addiction on reservations.

Fontaine was one of the first to go public with his past experiences of physical and sexual abuse.

"All kinds of abuse was inflicted on innocent children," Fontaine said. "There are thousands of these stories, all of them true. I think it's important to acknowledge that."

Fontaine said the prime minister's apology should mention all of the injustices done to Canadian aboriginals, who didn't have the right to vote until 1960.

Fontaine said he's been told the apology will incorporate much of what they requested and said framed copies of the apology will be handed out.

In 1998, Canada's former Indian affairs minister Jane Stewart expressed "profound regret" for the establishment of residential schools, but aboriginals didn't consider it sufficient in detail or substance.

Aboriginals set a sacred fire and conducted a ceremony at sunrise near Parliament to mark Harper's apology. More than 100 people gathered for a ceremony at the site of a former residential school in Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia, on Canada's east coast.

Television screens are being set up at locations across Canada so the event can be watched live. The House of Commons plans to put aside all other business for the apology.

In addition to the apology, a truth and reconciliation commission will examine government policy and take testimony from survivors.

The commission was created as part of a $4.9 billion class action settlement in 2006 — the largest in Canadian history — between the government and churches and the surviving students. About $59 million will fund the commission.

Also under the settlement, students who attended residential schools are eligible to receive $9,800 for their first they attended one of the schools and $2,900 for every year after. Victims of physical and sexual abuse are eligible for additional funds.

Aboriginal Judge Harry LaForme will oversee the commission and will eventually travel across the country to hear stories from former students, teachers and others. The goal is to give survivors a forum to tell their stories and educate Canadians about a grim period in the country's history.

On the Net:

Assembly of First Nations: http://www.afn.ca
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada: http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca
Truth and Reconciliation Commission: http://www.trc-cvr.ca

Sex Offenders: Patient release - an unreachable goal?

2008-06-10T09:25:00.001-05:00

Patient release - an unreachable goal?
By LARRY OAKES
Star Tribune
June 9, 2008

ST. PETER, MINN. - Mike Meyer says that in his 13 years locked inside Minnesota Sex Offender Program facilities, he's gained insight into why he molested 36 children and young adults, and how to stop himself from doing it again.

One technique psychologists taught him is privately repeating a deviant thought over and over until it loses its allure. Another is telling on himself -- confessing to a counselor or support group when he feels a taboo attraction. Both are supposed to break the cycle of thoughts and behaviors that led to his crimes.

"When I was offending I felt like I was a freak -- like I couldn't talk to anybody," said Meyer, 38. Now he recognizes secrecy as "a big red flag."

Meyer completed all the required phases of treatment in the Minnesota Sex Offender Program four years ago and has an 18-page Predischarge Plan listing his strategies for not reoffending. But he remains locked up.

Of similar programs in 19 states, only the 14-year-old MSOP and three others that are much newer have released no patients. While most states leave release decisions to the courts, Minnesota is one of only two states that until this year put that authority in the hands of a political appointee, the human services commissioner, and a paid review board he or she appoints. Their decisions could go to a court only on appeal.

This year, the Legislature removed the commissioner from reduction-of-custody decisions, but left that authority with the appointed review board.

Because no one can guarantee an offender won't rape or molest again, the safest course for political appointees has been to keep offenders locked up regardless of how their treatment has progressed. The result has been a ballooning MSOP population, with each resident costing taxpayers about $130,000 a year, three times what it costs to treat them in a conventional prison.

In the MSOP's history, a commissioner has approved only one provisional release, which was revoked in 2003 for rule violations. That same year a sex offender released from prison murdered 22-year-old Dru Sjodin of Pequot Lakes, and Gov. Tim Pawlenty prohibited releases from the MSOP unless required by law or ordered by a court. Pawlenty's order remains in effect.

The situation has prompted several of the experts who designed and ran the MSOP to become disillusioned and leave. Many patients also have given up -- currently about 20 percent don't participate in treatment -- while dozens who have completed the requirements for release wait in limbo, struggling to hold onto the hope that it wasn't all pointless.

"This place is morbidly hopeless and morbidly depressing," Meyer said recently. "I really have to believe there's going to be something better than this. Because if I don't, I'm going to die here."
Dealing with deviance

Dr. Michael Farnsworth was the forensic psychiatrist at the St. Peter Security Hospital in the early 1990s, when a series of shocking sex crimes prompted Minnesota to become the second state, after Washington, to start committing its most disordered and dangerous offenders to mental hospitals after their prison sentences.

Farnsworth said the hospital opposed the move.

"We said it would be a money pit, that there'd be no end to it, and that there's no proven technology to treat them," Farnsworth said. "Most of the literature said don't even treat these people."

When state leaders pushed ahead with the plan, Farnsworth was assigned to design the treatment regimen. The model he and his colleagues chose -- a cognitive-behavioral approach stressing relapse prevention -- is still in use today, in Minnesota and most other states with similar programs.

It requires offenders to own up to their histories, recognize their "high risk factors'' -- the thoughts, feelings and situations that preceded their crimes -- and learn to interrupt their "offense cycle" when faced with those factors again. Much of this work is done in groups of eight to 10 patients.

One of the "internal high risk factors'' identified in Meyer's case was low self-esteem, which used to cause him to avoid peers and seek out children, with whom he felt in control. Like many offenders, he struggles with his own issues of abuse, having been sexually abused by a farmer for whom he worked when he was young. Psychologists say offenders who were themselves abused may often have difficulty feeling empathy for others and sometimes must learn to recognize and label their own feelings.

Meyer says treatment taught him to recognize when his self-worth is low, through "cues" such as catching himself engaging in "inappropriate attention-seeking," such as horseplay. His planned coping responses include exercise and committing "random acts of kindness."

He also plans to avoid his "external high risk factors," including TV shows and movies featuring the type of children who fueled his fantasies. MSOP's clinicians also challenge patients to revise core beliefs that have led to offending, such as the idea that some women want to be raped or that laws against pedophilia are wrong. Such changeable attitudes or behaviors are labeled "dynamic risk factors," which patients must discard in order to advance in treatment.

Patients aroused by rape or abuse fantasies are taught to avert them by taking whiffs from vials of ammonia or rotten meat. The technique, called "olfactory aversion," is commonly used in sex offender programs, and some studies say it is effective in reducing deviant thoughts.

The MSOP also treats other problems that can interfere with patients' treatment and may have contributed to their crimes, such as chemical addictions, clinical depression and mental illnesses or retardation. Patients must keep journals to improve their self-awareness and insight, and to hold themselves accountable.

"When I was out offending I was extremely immature," said Meyer. "I wasn't clear about what my sexuality was, and I felt sexually inadequate. In treatment, I've been able to deal with those issues."

Realizing he was gay was helpful but also raised other issues, he said. For example, he thinks it's unfair that the program penalizes consensual sex between two gay patients who are in what they consider a healthy relationship.

Department of Human Services spokeswoman Patrice Vick confirmed that the program requires patients to be celibate. She said those caught having consensual sex can be placed in "protective isolation," restricted to their rooms, or otherwise disciplined.

Such sexual activity "is not in keeping with a treatment environment that is attempting to address patients' deep-seated sexual issues and dysfunction," Vick wrote in an e-mail.

Benefits unclear
A report by the U.S. Congressional Research Service in July said that of 2,694 civilly committed sex offenders nationwide in the fall of 2006, only 252 had been discharged, most within the past few years. Experts say it's impossible to tell whether treatment works based on such a small number of mostly recent releases.

As to non-committed sex offenders, a 2002 study found that 12.3 percent of a group of treated offenders committed a new sex crime, compared with 16.8 percent of untreated offenders. The congressional report concluded that "research indicates that there is not enough evidence to definitively prove that treatment for sex offenders works."

Farnsworth said that in the years since he helped set up the MSOP, "there's not been a huge explosion in the knowledge or the evaluation of the efficacy of treatment. And so most of the offenders across the country who have been committed remain committed. So it's very difficult to determine whether this very expensive treatment option, versus simple containment in prison on extended sentences, is really any more effective than doing nothing."

The director of Wisconsin's civilly committed offender program, which is being eyed as a possible model for Minnesota, says treatment does appear to reduce a patient's risk of reoffense.

Since Wisconsin's program began in 1994, it has fully discharged 14 offenders after what was deemed successful treatment, said Steve Watters, director of the Sand Ridge Secure Treatment Center in Mauston. Wisconsin courts released another 19 patients after legal challenges or because of reassessment of their risk. Two committed new sex offenses after their release.

Wisconsin's program has a mix of treatment techniques similar to Minnesota's, with the greatest emphasis on changing disordered thinking and core beliefs.

"Relapse prevention was at one point very mechanistic -- 'If x happens, then do y,' '' Watters said. "But you can't [envision] every possible dynamic they'll encounter. It's better to make them understand their errors in thinking, and change their behavior."

Unlike the MSOP, which has no patients in non-secure settings, Sand Ridge is overseeing 16 offenders who completed treatment and have returned to their home communities, to demonstrate their worthiness for discharge.

Agents stop by at random and track their movements with GPS bracelets. If they obey a stringent set of rules for several years, Watters said, the courts typically remove them from supervised status and grant a full discharge.

Watters cites Wisconsin's reliance on the courts for release decisions as one reason for that state's success. In Minnesota, release authority rests with a review board appointed by the Human Services commissioner.

"Obviously there are no guarantees," Watters said. "If you wait until they're 'cured,' you'll never release any sex offender. But I think the evidence would support that well-designed and -implemented treatment does produce a significant reduction in risk."

Slow on purpose
Meyer maintains that his treatment has worked. Last year he petitioned the MSOP's Special Review Board for a transfer to the program's Community Preparation Services unit, an unlocked facility with less supervision, which would put him a step closer to discharge.

MSOP clinicians opposed his petition, saying he needs to pass polygraph and other examinations to prove his deviant thoughts are at bay. A test called the Abel Assessment, which measures how patients respond to various photographs, found in 2005 that he was no longer attracted to deviant themes.

Clinicians said they also want Meyer to prove he can move about the treatment center campus unaccompanied, without creating any problems, before they'll support his transfer.

Despite the program's objections, the review board recommended that Meyer's petition be granted -- a rarity. But Human Services Commissioner Cal Ludeman denied the petition, calling the board's recommendation "premature." Meyer appealed to a Minnesota Supreme Court three-judge panel, which has yet to issue a decision.

Assistant Human Services Commissioner Wes Kooistra, designated by Ludeman to speak for the department, said the process leading to discharge is deliberately slow. "The only way they're going to be even considered for discharge is if they show a pattern over time of changing," he said.

Psychologist Paul Reitman, who has treated and assessed sex offenders for 18 years, examined Meyer for the three-judge panel. "I urge the court to grant Mr. Meyer's request," he wrote. "In my opinion, [he] has made real transformations to become a law-abiding citizen and to control himself sexually."

Minnesota, Reitman wrote, has "committed vast financial resources to rehabilitate sex offenders. ... Either we are committed to rehabilitation, or we are going to keep sex offenders locked up indeterminately."

Also see: Sex Offenders: Problems Our Parents Wouldn't Speak

Update: Case of Rabbi Mordecai Tendler vs. Kehillat New Hempstead

2008-06-08T19:09:00.000-05:00

Appellate Court Unanimously Rules in Favor of Rabbi Mordecai Tendler
PR Web
June 8, 2008

A New York appellate court unanimously reversed a lower court and ruled that a New Hempstead, NY synagogue breached its contract with its rabbi (Mordecai Tendler) when it fired him without adhering to the terms of the contract and attempted to justify its action by later obtaining a unilateral ruling from a purported "rabbinical court."

New York (PRWEB) June 8, 2008 -- In the long awaited decision, The Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court ruled in a decision dated June 3, 2008 that the Kehillat New Hempstead breached the contract of Rabbi Mordecai Tendler when they terminated him in February, 2006.

The court stated: (http://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/3dseries/2008/2008_05067.htm)
"In May 1992 the plaintiff entered into a contract with the defendant...The Parties' contract expressly provided that the Congregation could not terminate the plaintiff's employment as its rabbi "unless" it had obtained prior authorization from a rabbinical court...While implicitly conceding that it terminated the plaintiff as its Rabbi sometime before February 27, 2006, the Congregation contends that it obtained the required rabbinical court ruling authorizing such action. However, the rabbinical court ruling upon the Congregation relies is dated March 21, 2006...Accordingly, the plaintiff established, as a matter of law, that the Congregation breached the contract."

Rabbi Tendler argued that reliance upon a document purporting to be a Rabbinical Court decision authored by Benzion Wosner, of Monsey, New York was untenable inasmuch as it was dated after his termination. Rabbi Tendler was not involved in any such proceeding at any time. In fact, he was never advised of the existence of Wosner's so called "rabbinical court" action until it surfaced in the litigation as an apparent pretext for his termination.

Wosner, an Israeli immigrant, living in Monsey, New York, has been involved in several controversial actions regarding the Eruvs in Flatbush and Washington Heights, New York. (http://www.flatbusheruv.org/hech_page.htm) He also provides Kashrus certification in Monsey New York (http://www.kashrusmagazine.com/ksg/nyc/nyc_metro.htm).

Modesty Patrol spills acid on teenage girl / News Broadcast on the Ultra Religious in Israel

2008-06-05T23:18:00.001-05:00

Modesty patrol' suspected of spilling acid on teenage girl
Religious tensions at boiling point in Beitar Illite as 14-year-old girl attacked by member of town's 'modesty guard'
By Neta Sela
YNET NEWS
June 5, 2008

A 14-year-old girl from Beitar Illite (also known as Meah Shearim 2) was taken to the Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem after an unknown person spilled acid on her face, legs and stomach, causing light burn wounds.

The act has been attributed to a representative of the so-called 'modesty guard' in this town where religious and secular residents are increasingly at bitter odds.

MDA received the call just before midnight on Wednesday and paramedic Dror Eini who arrived on the scene to treat the girl also managed to calm her down enough so she could explain what had happened.

Eini told Ynet that “the modesty guards have been threatening her for quite some time.” According to the paramedic the focus of the threats has largely been the victim's 18-year-old sister and some suspect the attacker mistook the younger girl's identity for that of her older sister's.

Eini said the teenager was in a difficult emotional state: “She cried the whole way to the hospital, partly because she was in pain but mostly because she was terrified.” According to Eini at the time of her attack the girl had been wearing loose-fitting long pants and a short-sleeved shirt.

“If she would have been wearing the same thing in Jerusalem or in Tel Aviv, she would not have stuck out in any way,” he added.

An ultra-Orthodox teen from Beitar Illite who is in contact with the girl’s family spoke with her sister who described the incident. According to the boy, the attacker stopped the girl and first asked her for directions. Then, after confirming her surname, he spilled a bottle of acid on her.
The girl was released from the hospital on Thursday and the police sent samples of the liquid she was attacked with for analysis.

According to the young man, her family is under severe pressure. “What makes the treatment of this case so problematic is the feeling that there is no one to talk to in this city and no one wants to find a solution to this problem.” Fingers are being pointed towards the municipality for failing to treat troubled youths.

I thought you might also be interested in this story put together by Dateline's George Negus (Australia). "Israel's Ultra Orthodox" (Part 1 and 2).

Modesty Patrol spills acid on teenage girl / News Broadcast on the Ultra Religious in Israel

2008-06-05T23:18:00.000-05:00

I thought you might also be interested in this story put together by Dateline's George Negus (Australia). "Israel's Ultra Orthodox" (Part 1 and 2).

Case of Rabbi Elior Chen - Did A Jewish Community Shelter A Sex Offending Rabbi?

2008-06-05T09:01:00.001-05:00

The Awareness Center says:

This case is no different then many of the other cases The Awareness Center has dealt with over the last seven years. The only difference is that Haaretz has the guts to be direct and say that Interpol suspects a Jewish community sheltered an alleged sex offender.

The Awareness Center has worked on cases multiple cases in Chicago, IL; Baltimore, MD; Los Angeles including multiple other locations in New Jersey and New York (Lakewood, NJ; Williamsburg, Monsey, Flatbush, Boro Park) where Jewish community leaders attempted to cover up crimes. We have also and had the experience of advocating for the rights of survivors in various Jewish communities in Australia, South Africa, Canada and Israel where the rabbonim and other Jewish community leaders did and are currently doing every thing in their power to silence and shame survivors of sex crimes in order to protect and promote those who have perpetrated heinous sex crimes.

As we know, pedophillia has no religion, nor does the tradition to cover up any and all sex crimes. We have seen the same thing happen within the Catholic church -- it is exactly what the Vatican has done for years if not centuries with its abusive priests and nuns. We've also seen this happened when any political and or public figure was caught abusing children and unsuspecting adults. This is also what has been happening in both public and private schools when it was suspected that one of it's employees physically and or sexually victimized a child.

This tradition needs to end immediately.

Vicki Polin, Founder and CEO
The Awareness Center, Inc.

Interpol suspects Brazil Jewish community sheltered rabbi wanted for child abuse
By Jonathan Lis and Paula Idoeta
Haaretz
June 5, 2008

SAO PAULO - Interpol suspects that the Jewish community in Sao Paulo hid an an ultra-Orthodox rabbi suspected of seriously abusing Jerusalem children, one of whom is in a vegetative state.

Local police arrested Rabbi Elior Chen Wednesday on a street corner in the Bom Retiro neighborhood after conducting an extensive search through the Jewish neighborhood.

"Apparently he was being protected by the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Sao Paulo, who supposedly didn't know about the accusations against him in Israel," said Menoti Barros de Oliveira, the Interpol sheriff in Sao Paulo. "He was found alone, in the street of Julio Conceicao, so we think he was already separated from his peers."
Advertisement

Chen is considered the spiritual leader of a Jerusalem sect that was found to have abused young children, two of whom, aged 3 and 4, were hospitalized in March in critical condition.

On Wednesday, Chen was reported to have turned himself over to the Brazilian police. Later in the day, however, Sao Paulo police informed their counterparts in Israel that he had not turned himself in, but was arrested.

Chen's lawyer Ariel Atari denied reports on Wednesday that Chen had been arrested and insisted he had turned himself in. "When Elior Chen arrived at the Sao Paulo police department in the morning, he threw police into great confusion. None of them expected him to turn himself in," Atari said.

"Israeli police did not ask the Brazilian police to carry out an extensive search for him," said Moti Edri, a police official in Jerusalem. "It was the Brazilian police's own initiative, undertaken due to a similar case of child abuse there recently."

Police sources say Chen's extradition is currently awaiting approval by the Brazilian Supreme Court. They expect him to be extradited to Israel within a few weeks. Chen had fled Israel to Canada with his wife and their four children three months ago after the arrest of a Jerusalem mother, who was apparently one of his disciples, on suspicion that she severely abused her eight children at Chen's bidding. The mother was indicted for allegedly burning her 3- and 4-year-old, making them eat feces and locking them in a suitcase for days at a time, among other charges.

When he arrived in Brazil, local authorities detained Chen's wife and children, yet he evaded arrest. Hoping to pressure Chen's wife into turning him in, Brazilian authorities removed the children from their mother's custody and placed them with a foster family for two days, after which they were returned to their mother.

Israel Police representatives went to Brazil to pursue Chen last week and an international warrant for his arrest was issued in April.

Brazilian Federal Police released a communique Wednesday to the Jewish community in Sao Paulo informing them of the serious offenses Chen allegedly committed. "Elior Noam Chen, also known as Eliyahu Abuhatzeira, frequented a synagogue in Bom Retiro and we're sure that Sao Paulo's Israeli community, upon learning of the torture cases, alerted the religious representatives of the city and prohibited the community to cover for the fugitive," the statement said.

Update: Case of Rabbi Mordecai Tendler

2008-06-04T09:47:00.001-05:00

Arguments heard in case of New Hempstead rabbi accused of seducing woman
Jay Gallagher
Lower Hudson
June 4, 2008

ALBANY - The state's highest court heard arguments yesterday about whether a claim of emotional distress and breach of fiduciary duty should be reinstated against a New Hempstead rabbi on behalf of a woman who says he seduced her.

The case involves (NAME REMOVED), a Manhattan woman, and Rabbi Mordechai Tendler, founder and spiritual leader of Kehillat New Hempstead.

(NAME REMOVED) claims the two had a sexual relationship from November 2001 to May 2005 after he induced her into having intercourse "as part of a course of sexual therapy which he represented would lead to her achieving her goals of marriage and children."

"Should the predator be allowed to cloak himself in clerical garb to prey on his clients?"
(NAME REMOVED)'s lawyer, Lenore Kramer, asked the seven-member Court of Appeals panel.

But Tendler's lawyer, Richard Bliss, said: "What we have here is consensual conduct. I don't think we should criminalize it."

Bliss pointed to a statute passed by the state Legislature in 1935 that abolished the right to seek monetary damages for seduction.

But Kramer argued that because Tendler was a rabbi, it put him in a position of power over (NAME REMOVED) and that this position separated their relationship from a mere affair.

"This man is a predator," she said.

Could he have seduced her and not faced criminal sanctions if he was not a rabbi? Judge Robert Smith asked Kramer.

"It is an indispensable element" of the action that he was a rabbi, Kramer said. "This is not some man she met in a bar."

The trial-level court, the Court of Appeals, upheld (NAME REMOVED)'s right to seek damages, but the mid-level appeals court reversed that decision in a 3-2 vote.

A decision from the Court of Appeals is expected by early next month.

Israel's ultra-orthodox community often fear speaking up will bring shame on their families

2008-06-02T12:52:00.001-05:00

Cloistered Shame in Israel
SECRETS: Abuse victims in Israel's ultra-orthodox community often fear speaking up will bring shame on their families

By Tim McGirk
Time Magazine (CNN)
May 28, 2008

Among Israel's ultra-orthodox Jews, the Haredim, social workers are often called "child-snatchers" and the police "Cossacks," harking back to the 19th century pogroms against Jews in Russia. These cloistered communities, in which women are expected to raise and financially support their large families while their husbands spend their days stooped over the Torah, make up 10% of Israel's population and a third of Jerusalem's, and consider themselves defenders of a core morality in Jewish society. But that moral authority has come under scrutiny since evidence began to emerge in March of incest, rape and child abuse in four different ultra-orthodox enclaves around the country.

Over the last few weeks the Cossacks have arrived wearing the uniform of the Israeli national police force. In a series of raids following tip-offs from victims' relatives, neighbors and hospital workers, the police have arrested ultra-orthodox wives, husbands and yeshiva students.

Community elders were at first appalled. Now they are grateful for the intervention. "The Haredim are shocked by these cases," says Noach Korman, a Haredi attorney in the rabbinical court that adjudicates family and religious law, and the director of a shelter for battered wives. "At first they said, 'These people are crazy, they don't belong to us.' But now I hear Haredi voices saying: 'We should examine ourselves and not close our eyes to why these things are happening.' "Says Naomi Ragen, an orthodox woman who is an author and advocate for gender equality: "These shocking things had to come out. There was no more room left under the carpet."

Sex predators operate with ease among the ultra-orthodox communities because female victims often keep quiet, knowing that to speak out will damage their prospects of finding a husband. "The families all want their girls to have a AAA marriage to a religious scholar from a good family, and nobody's going to marry a girl who gets raped," says Ragen. In Bnei Brak, a predominately Haredi city near Tel Aviv, social worker Doron Agasi says one young Haredi man told him that he had molested more than a hundred girls. Agasi, director of the Shlom Banaich Fellowship, the only organization in Israel that treats pedophiles and their victims, convinced the young man to confess to the police. But, says Agasi, the authorities refused to bring charges because none of the parents of the alleged victims had filed complaints. Agasi says the rapist is now roaming free.

Convincing the Haredi to work with police and social workers has been a struggle, says Miki Miller, a social worker in the newly built Haredi town of Kiryat Sefer near Jerusalem. "The Haredi believe that a closed society is a pure society," she says. But a closed society can hide a multitude of sins. A senior police officer in Jerusalem acknowledges that the instincts of the Haredi community to cover up such crimes undermines the authorities' ability to investigate and prosecute offenders: "We're aware of this phenomenon of sex abuse among Haredis, but an extremely low number of these cases are ever reported."

The first port of call for Haredi families faced with violence or sex crimes is often their rabbi. But religious leaders themselves have not been immune from accusations of abuse. On April 6, a Jerusalem court indicted a Haredi mother of eight for child abuse in light of evidence that she broke her two toddlers' bones with hammers, forced the children to eat feces, and locked them inside a suitcase for hours. The alleged abuses came to light only after her three-year-old son was taken to hospital in a coma with brain damage. The woman claimed she was driving "devils" from her children following instructions from her religious counselor Elior Chene, who has since fled to Canada. Israeli police are seeking his extradition.

In Beit Shemesh, a town near Jerusalem, another case of abuse centered on a self-styled female "rabbi" who hid her face entirely behind a black veil. Her religious modesty attracted dozens of Haredi female disciples over several years, but her own sister was frantically seeking police intervention to stop the woman from thrashing her children with a rolling pin. Neighbors say she allegedly left her kids tied for hours to a garden tree. After her arrest, one of her children, now an adult, told police that his mother had encouraged incest among her offspring when they were younger.

Family Honor
The majority of ultra-orthodox families are orderly and loving, but for some mothers, the stress of raising an average of seven to eight children while holding down a job is too much to handle. Haredi men place a higher value on spiritual learning than on money or possessions; devout husbands, who wear black hats and long-tailed coats modeled on those of 18th century Polish noblemen, are expected only to study. And when they are abusive, their wives often cover up to preserve the family's honor. Says Ragen: "You hear the Haredi women say: 'I took the stain on me so that my husband could be as white as snow.' "

Social workers at Jerusalem's shelter for battered Haredi women say that family violence often erupts during the ritual Shabbat dinner, when all children are gathered — tempers flare over mundane arguments and the husband strikes his wife. A wife may endure such treatment for years. But the number of women who call a 24-hour hotline for battered Haredi women has jumped from 477 calls in 2004 to 1,402 last year. Social workers attribute the increase to a new generation of rabbis urging women to speak out against domestic violence.

Yet many Jewish feminists say that women are more repressed than ever inside Israel's Haredi community. Anat Zuria, a respected filmmaker who focuses on the Haredim, says that many Haredi now believe that, according to Biblical prophecy, Judgment Day is fast approaching. "The Haredi are becoming more Messianic, and they believe the Messiah will only come if there's purity and modesty among women," she says. To that end, boys and girls are segregated early on. "Everything about sexuality is unmentionable," says Zuria. "There's no Internet, no TV, no books, but you can't kill off the erotic impulse." Author Ragen concurs: "All of these taboos don't necessarily make them saints. Sometimes they become perverts."

That realization is sinking in with some socially conscious rabbis. In Febuary, Rabbi Meir Kessler from Kiryat Sefer called two late-night meetings in which 3,000 parents were urged to warn their children that even men in beards and hats are capable of evil. The rabbi's candid sermon has stirred debate among the shuttered Haredim. One stunned participant told reporters that "not since Moses" had a rabbi spoken publicly on such forbidden sexual topics. The spate of abuse cases prompted Israel's chief Ashkenazi rabbi, Yona Metzger, to call on his fellow religious leaders "to vomit these parents and rabbis out of the camp and do everything in our power to save the souls of these young children."

More openness is the only way to catch offenders and root out the culture that permits them to operate. Teachers in some Haredi primary schools and yeshivas are now taught how to recognize such telltale sights of abuse as sudden moodiness or aggression, injuries or indecent behavior towards other students. In early spring, a teacher in the southern town of Nativot caught one child sexually accosting another. Social workers investigated and found that the boy's mother said she had sex with her child as a way to "punish" her husband for having left her.

It's hard to find positives in such stories. Yet it is better that they come to light than that they remain the dark secret of the Haredi. In Bnei Brak, police say one rapist in ultra-orthodox garb is stalking preteen girls, cornering them in dark hallways or in parks. It took weeks before religious elders alerted the police to the sexual predator, who has yet to be caught. But authorities say it is a sign of changing times that the Haredi children, and their parents, did not endure these crimes in silence.

With reporting by Aaron J. Klein/Jerusalem

Is this about "rabbi" Hershy Worch from his days in Melbourn, Australia?

2008-06-01T21:00:00.000-05:00

From Anonymous:

See: Comment #3 on AJN (Australian Jewish News) website re: book that resembles allegations against Hershy Worch

http://www.ajn.com.au/news/news.asp?pgID=5413
#3 - Embi (12/05/2008 1:12:44 PM)
Hmm... the story sounds fascinating but also familiar to anyone who was active in the Melbourne Jewish university community in the 1990s. I don't think Hillel has ever recovered from that disturbing experience. Hope your book has been properly reviewed by the lawyers.

Previous email:

____________________________________________________________
Jewish author connected to Rabbi Hershy Worch's former synagogue
(Hamakom Synagogue) in Australia writes a book about an abusive Rabbi
who is "a charismatic US rabbi who rides into town on a page of
Kabbalah, bringing with him an irresistible mix of personality,
mystical teachings and guitar playing".

Sound familiar?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1)
http://www.ajn.com.au/news/news.asp?pgID=5413
Yvonne Fein blog (may 6, 2008)
Potent mix of charisma and Kabbalah

It is an ugly fact of life that the very nature of authority guarantees its abuse. And in too many cases, those who exert authority, along with those in whom it is invested will not only abuse it, they will also get away with doing so.

In Jewish life, the corrupt power-brokers have often been our rabbis.

Intended to be men of God, increasingly they have been exposed as having feet of clay.

And those who dare to unmask them risk community opprobrium along with personal discredit and humiliation.

I despise, and always have, those who manipulate others simply because they can. I despise their fraudulence and their cold-hearted abuse of the susceptible.

Yet even worse in my eyes are those who blame the victims, those members of the Beth Din, for example who, as was the case in the US not so long ago, forced victims to apologise to the rabbi who had wronged them.

It was not until the victims put their case before a criminal court of the land that the rabbi in question was found guilty and sentenced to several years’ imprisonment. His was not an isolated case.

This week, Hybrid Publishers will release my latest novel, The Torn Messiah.

Between its covers, I have told a strange and disturbing story about rabbis and students, masters and disciples.

The Torn Messiah is a psychological thriller set in contemporary Melbourne.

It centres on a charismatic New York rabbi who rides into town on a page of Kabbalah, bringing with him an irresistible mix of personality, mystical teachings and guitar playing.

Melbourne’s vulnerable Jewish youth flock to him, hungry for any teaching which will show them a way of identifying Jewishly beyond the narrow confines of Holocaust and Zionism.

And while the protagonists are Jews who walk our well-known, Caulfield streets, the tale inside the novel is a universal one, grappling with a global dilemma.

How should we respond to the enchantment of those who would fill our brains with exhilarating ideas, our hearts with music and pleasure and yet manipulate our consciousness for their own dubious ends -– sexual, spiritual or emotional?

What defence can we mount against such a profound abuse of power as well as against the potent seductiveness possessed by texts, ancient or modern, when they combine with bitter-sweet melodies filtered through generations of suffering.

The Torn Messiah reveals how an authority figure steeped in spiritual mysticism can endanger the susceptible and the defenceless and perhaps it asks more questions than it is able to answer.

I have always thought that the essence of being a Jew was to question and to argue. The humblest can challenge the greatest and all that matters is the truth. No one may be deferred to because of rank.

What is the Talmud, after all, if not one long, albeit incredibly mellifluous, argument down the centuries with scholars challenging scholars -– their peers and those long dead -– over their opinions ranging from the great questions of life and love, of death and the great beyond, to the most infinitesimal, microscopic examination of halachic minutiae.

Arguably, the greatest argument ever recorded.

How is it possible then that matters have come to such a pass that we defer to rabbis, beyond all reason, simply because they have laid claim to the power?

They are men of God, not God himself. And, thank God, Judaism has never subscribed to any sort of doctrine of infallibility.

Once we admit, therefore, to the risk of fallibility in our leaders, it behoves us to keep them honest by a clear-eyed, clear-headed assessment of their actions.

If they act improperly in any way, surely it is a greater crime against the God they claim to serve if we turn a blind eye simply because it is too painful to admit their frailty and their weakness.

The Torn Messiah took me more than five years to write and then another year to sell and bring to publication.

It is not, however, like giving birth to a child. If women had to gestate for five or six years to produce a single offspring, the human race would have died out long ago.

So why did I do it?

I want the story out there. As a Jew, I want people to be aware of the imperfections within a system that is at once flawed and splendid.

As a writer, I am compelled to put words to paper. There is no WA (Writers Anonymous) chapter I can attend, no 12-step program I can undertake to break my compulsion.

It is the hand I was dealt. It is the itch I am eternally compelled to scratch.

And along with it comes a desire to tell stories only I can tell because of the life I have led, to tell them with truth and integrity, to place them in the public domain and let the chips fall
where they may.

2)
http://www.j-net.com.au/synagogues.html

NAME Hamakom
CONTACT Yvonne Fein
PHONE 03 9528 4382
EMAIL frad@ozemail.com.au
WEB

3)
http://www.theawarenesscenter.org/Worch_Hershy.html
Regarding Rabbi Jeremy Hershy Worch - While in Melbourne, Australia From a group of men and women in Melbourne Australia who wish to remain anonymous - December 6, 2004

Hershy Worch came to Melbourne, Australia with his wife and young family in 1995. He was initially employed by the Hillel Foundation.

As rabbi of the Hamakom Synagogue, he was then financially supported by members of his community from the years 1995-1997.

During this time both his behaviour and demeanour with his female students were consistently predatory, manipulative and abusive. He proactively sought 'romantic' and sexual relationships wtih many many women, specifically targeting those who were emotionally vulnerable and fostering acute dependency. He consistently used his role as counselor to make sexual advances towards those who came to him in need. He had 'romantic' sexual relationships with married and unmarried women who ranged in age from 20 to 50.

His inappropriate behaviour towards female students included:

Physical sexual interactions
Predatory behavior in the pursuit of women: e.g. late night phone calls and invitations to teach women privately.
Using the teaching of Torah as a tool of seduction.
Using group situations with himself at the centre - that utilized his musical, vocal and narrative 'talents' - to manipulate individuals and create a cultic environment around 'Kabbalah' classes.
Using his relationships with students to influence them to 'rescue' him by financially and publically supporting and defending him.
His abuse of his position as rabbi, chazzan and counselor traumatized this community leaving wounds that took and are still taking many years to heal. Reputations were publicly compromised and personal lives were taken over.

Those who have followed his career since he left Australia and returned to the United States have observed a repetition of these patterns. We trust that with our testimony and others you will do everything within your power to expose Hershy Worch and warn individuals and communities who may be vulnerable to his 'teachings' and promises of insight and enlightenment.

4) Sample pages from book
http://www.hybridpublishers.com.au/titles/48.html

5) Interview scheduled in June
http://www.shalom.edu.au/limmudoz/contentPageM.php?pageName=sessions

WARNING: To All Parents and Anyone Working With Teens

2008-05-27T18:30:00.001-05:00

Sexting: New, Dangerous Teen Trend
ABC 7
May 15, 2008

A new, dangerous trend is growing among teenagers: text messaging explicit photos of themselves, also known as sexting. Students as young as 12 are exchanging salacious pictures and messages through their cellphones.

"A picture got out of somebody else's older sister and that kinda spread like wildfire through our school," said a tenth grader.

The phenomenon is raging as wildly as their hormones. It's known as sexting or sex texting, sending lewd messages and pictures through a cellphone. "Nude body pictures, topless, bottomless, poses, inappropriate," said one tenth grader.

Its invaded middle schools as well. A seventh grader said, "It's not usually strangers. It's just somebody you've been talking to lately and they want to see more of you... literally."

Half of the 12 year old's ABC 7/NewsChannel 8's Julie Parker talked to had heard of this happening in their school. All the students talked to for the story said while they knew about it, they hadn't done it themselves. Both genders agree the boys are the instigators, but some girls play along.

"I think the girls, they just want to get their attention and usually it works," said an eighth grader. Another student in the same grade said, "Sometimes they'll say, 'Send me a picture of your boobs' or 'Send me a picture of your butt.'"

The risque game has very real consequences. "The phones these days are like very good so they can just like send it to the Internet and they can put it on MySpace and other people can save it so it's like all over the place," said a seventh grader.

John Shehan from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children said, "Once it's out there, while they might think it's just their classmates looking at these images, well, it's also the dirty old men. It's the pedophiles. It's those that want to sexually prey on children who take these images, who collect them and spread them worldwide."

It's a very real fear for parents. "It's alarming. They're not protected." "It's really disappointing! It's hard to be a parent today."

The kids said very often it starts as a girlfriend sending a boyfriend a picture, but then they break up, he shows a friend and it quickly gets forwarded around. It's a felony for children under 18 to not only receive one of these pictures on their phone, but taking a photo and sending it could lead to pornography production and distribution charges.

CALL TO ACTION: Stop Allowing Alleged Sex Offender, Rabbi Shlomo Aviner From Being A Spokes Person On Child Abuse.

2008-05-25T07:49:00.002-05:00

rabbi Shlomo Aviner
From The Awareness Center:

The Awareness Center, Inc.
(the international Jewish Coalition Against Sexual Abuse/Assault)
P.O. Box 65273, Baltimore, MD 21209
www.theawarenesscenter.org
443-857-5560

CALL TO ACTION: Stop Allowing Alleged Sex Offender, Rabbi Shlomo Aviner From Being A Spokes Person On Child Abuse.

May 23, 2008

Back in 2002, serious allegations were made against Rabbi Shlomo Aviner of sexually harassing women both verbally and physically. Like in many other cases, those who tried to speak out where shunned and made to look as if they were crazy.

Rabbi Shlomo Aviner continues to be the senior rabbi and a Rosh yeshiva (dean of a seminary) in Jerusalem, Israel. In the last few months Aviner has been publicly speaking out against child abuse as a PR campaign to correct his image. This needs to be stopped!

Due to the seriousness of the past allegation, Rabbi Aviner's actions should be scene as endangering the safety of adolescent girls and adult women, who might see him as a "safe person." The Awareness Center is demanding that Rabbi Aviner undergo a psychological evaluation conducted by a mental health professional approved by our organization prior to him becoming a spokes person on the issue of child abuse.

Please write letters to the editor of the following Israeli newspapers to ensure they are aware that their actions of quoting this alleged sex offender may lead to another woman being harmed.

YNET News
Editor in Chief
editor-in-chief@y-i.co.il
click here to send letters

Jerusalem Post
Telephone 972-2-531-5666
David Horovitz, Editor-in-Chief
Amir Mizroch, News Editor

Haaretz
Letters to the editor
972-3-512-1212

For more information on Rabbi Aviner go to:

Case of Rabbi Ephraim Bryks (Brooklyn, NY) - This makes me sick!

2008-04-30T00:29:00.001-05:00

The following came from The Awareness Center's daily newsletter

Case of Rabbi Ephraim Bryks (Brooklyn, NY) - This makes me sick!

What more can we do to protect innocent people from becoming the next victim of Rabbi Ephraim Bryks?

How is it that after all these years of exposing the serious allegations made against Rabbi Ephraim Bryks is still able to draw a crowd?

What makes this alleged cult leader so charismatic that people would flock to hear what he has to say? Remember this is an "orthodox" rabbi who allegedly molested several boys and manipulated adult women he was counseling into have sexual relations with him. This is a case in which several suicides are connected. This is a case in which the Canadian Broadcast Network put together a documentary.

The only way anything will ever change is with public outrage. Below is a link that listss recent lecutres conducted by alleged serial rapist/child molester - Rabbi Ephraim Bryks. Please contact every news media group you know and let them know about this case. Go to the web page that is promoting Bryks, and write to the owner and let him know your outrage at his posting of Bryks's lectures. Let the owner know if anyone comes in contact with Rabbi Ephraim Bryks after listening to one of his lectures on line and is harmed, that he could be named in a civil suit since he was made aware that Bryks is a danger to women and children. http://www.kolyakov.org/Rabbi/Ephraim_Bryks/

-------------------------------------------
WARNING: Rabbi Ephraim Bryks and Marriage Counseling
Ephrayim Bryks has become a rabbinic marriage counselor. The term marriage counselor or life coach can be used by anyone. He is not the only "rabbi" suspected of sexual abuse using one of these titles to access vulnerable individuals or couples both here and in Israel. Consulting actual professionals is expensive and unless the community publicly warns against going to these charlatans (often worse) many innocents will continue to be hurt.
Sincerely,
Rabbi Yosef Blau

Rabbi Ephraim Boruch Bryks principal Yeshiva Berachel David Torah High School Queens, currently serves time as a member of the Vaad Harabonim of Queens (Rabbinical committee that makes important decisions within the community). As of today, there has been no public statement made concerning his decade long membership on the Vaad Harabonim of Queens. On May 27, 2003, he resigned his membership in the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA), after being involved for a quarter of a century.

Anyone with relevant information regarding the open case in Canada is encouraged to contact the Winnipeg Police at their main phone number: (204) 986-6037.

Anyone with relevant information in the United States is encouraged to contact their local police department and their local District Attorney's office, NYPD Switchboard: 646-610-5000 Queens District Attorney's office: 718-286-6000.

Rabbi Ephraim Bryks is originally from Denver, Colorado. In this case, accusations about his inappropriate behavior with children started surfacing in the 1980's. These accusations also included making sexual advancements to women in his congregation. When his alleged victims disclosed their experiences to a rabbinic leader in their community, they were basically told to keep silent. The rabbi advised them not to go to the police or child family services. He told them to deal with the allegations internally with the synagogue board. The children were not offered psychotherapy to help them cope with their alleged victimization. Unfortunately a teenager who didn't have the coping skills to deal with his memories ended up committing suicide.

Over the years Rabbi Ephraim Bryks has left a trail of alleged victims from such far-away places as Winnipeg, Canada. He is currently located in New York City. There are no documented cases or public information regarding any victims in New York, yet he has been let go by schools (one characterized as firing), but the schools will not discuss the matter.

For years alleged victims have been going to rabbinic leaders in their communities looking for guidance. For years rabbinic leaders have found it more important to protect an alleged sexual predator over protecting our children.

49 year-old Rabbi Ephraim Boruch Bryks will continue to run Yeshiva Berachel David in Queens until the end of the 2003 school year. No public statement has been made concerning his decade- long membership on the Vaad Harabonim of Queens. Rabbi Bryks was a member of the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA) for over a quarter of a century before his May 27, 2003 resignation. Ads in The Jewish Press indicate that Rabbi Bryks is currently working as a mortgage broker for a company he runs out of his home called REB International LLC.).

WARNING: Malka Leifer is currently living in Emmanuel, Israel

2008-04-25T09:22:00.003-05:00

WARNING: Malka Leifer is currently living in Emmanuel, Israel
Background History
by Vicki Polin - Executive Director, The Awareness Center, Inc.
The Awareness Center's Daily Newsletter
April 25, 2008

Please forward this to anyone you know who may come in contact with Malka Leifer. The goal is to prevent one more person from becoming a victim of a sex crime. Click here: download poster to pass out to members of the Emmanuel community

Malka Leifer was born in Tel Aviv, Israel. In 2000, Malka Leifer was hired by Adass Israel Girls School. In 2003 she was promoted and made principal. Her employment terminated and left Melbourne within 24 hours of being investigated by the school board. There were allegations made that Adass Israel school purchased the ticket for Leifer to return to Israel. Norman Rosenbaum, the schools spokesperson, the rumors are not true. Another source stated that she “borrowed” $ 24,000 the day before she left from some of the girls and teachers at the school.
For more information on this case click here

Sick of Anti-Semites and Racists!

2008-04-25T08:00:00.000-05:00

G-d Questions From A Survivor of Child Sexual Abuse

2008-04-24T11:10:00.000-05:00

G-d Questions From a Survivor of Jewish Child Sexual Abuse

The following questions were sent to me from a survivor. I'm hoping every survivor, parent or rabbi out there who reads this will post their answers in the comment section.

Many say G-d gave us the freedom of choice. I've heard over and over again that when someone sexually victimizes another they are choosing to do evil. My question and confusion is the fact that G-d gave those who offend the thoughts and ability to sexually abuse/assault others.

Why would G-d do that?

What kind of G-d would even come up with the idea of allow humans to do these sorts of things to children?

Do you ever wonder where was G-d while you were being sexually violated?

Prof. Marci Hamliton mentions the case of Rabbi Yehuda Kolko

2008-04-23T20:09:00.001-05:00

The Supreme Court Considers Whether Imposing the Death Penalty for Child Rape Is Constitutional: The Arguments For and Against the Penalty
By Marci Hamliton
FindLaw
April 7, 2008

Yesterday, Wednesday, April 16, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Kennedy v. Louisiana, on the question whether Louisiana may constitutionally impose the death penalty on an offender convicted of committing child rape. The Court had previously ruled in Coker v. Georgia that the rape of an adult (though, in that case, it was the rape of a sixteen-year-old) could not be punished with death. In this case, the question is whether a stepfather can constitutionally be put to death for the brutal rape of his eight-year-old stepdaughter.

The Court's decision, which is likely to appear in June, will set important precedent, because a handful of states take Louisiana's approach, and others are poised to adopt the death penalty for child rape if it is upheld by the Court. In this column, I'll consider the arguments for and against the penalty for child rape.

The Arguments in Favor of, and Against, the Death Penalty for Child Rape
The argument in favor of the death penalty for child rape is simple justice. If capital punishment is appropriate for murder, applying it to child rape is not a large extension. The crime closest to murder is the rape of a child, whose childhood is essentially exterminated and whose future is forever changed. The whole culture suffers grievously, too, from the severe disabilities generated by child sex abuse.

Some argue that there should be simply a bright line at murder for the death penalty, but a crucial aspect of its internal logic - deterrence - is obviously very important in the context of child rape.

The argument against this punishment, though, is that the severity of the penalty is likely to lead legislators and others to think that they have accomplished more than they actually have by imposing it. The truth is that life in prison without parole is just as successful in serving society's need to keep child rapists away from children as the death penalty would be. There is no quantum increase in child safety that depends upon whether the perpetrator is alive and locked away, or dead and gone.

One can understand, though, the motivation behind imposing capital punishment for child rape. As it has become increasingly clear to policymakers that child predators are permanent recidivists, frustration has grown. Desperate to protect our children, we have thrown everything we can concoct at the predators to keep our children safe -- sex offender registries, to track the ones who are now out of prison; GPS monitoring units on offenders during parole, to improve the quality of the tracking; and increasingly stiff sentences to achieve the greatest effect in deterrence and incapacitation that, as a society, we possibly can. (There is also the idea of pedophile-free zones, but as I discussed in a previous column, this much-touted solution is doomed to be ineffective and makes little sense.)

Of course, what we really want, as a society, is to rid the world of child sexual predators. The crime is so heinous and devastating that such offenders simply should not exist. Children should have childhoods filled with happiness and light - not terror and abuse that scars for a lifetime. But such predators do exist, our children remain at risk, and, worse, current data indicates that sex abuse is scarily prevalent, with at least 20% of boys sexually abused, and at least 25% of girls.

While the registries, GPS tracking, and longer sentences are all good ideas that make meaningful contributions to child safety, they do not get to the heart of the most serious problem we have: We don't know who most of the predators are.

There are two primary reasons we do not. First, we have engineered the statutes of limitations so that the vast majority of claims never get to court. The result of this appalling error is that we have an army of predators, currently grooming children to be victims, who operate under the anonymity of expired statutes of limitations.

Until we create opportunities for survivors to get into court, the current bells and whistles of predator treatment will remain irrelevant for a major class of predators. After all, you cannot put someone whose identity you do not know on a registry, attach a GPS monitor to his ankle, or increase his sentence. Thus, removing the statutes of limitations for child sex abuse is fundamentally necessary if we want to increase our knowledge of who the predators among us truly are -- as I argue in more detail in my book forthcoming from Cambridge University Press this month, Justice Denied: What America Must Do to Protect Its Children.

Second, too often, known predators are permitted to plead to less serious charges, and thereby permitted to evade the registries that would otherwise list them, and the GPS monitoring and stiff sentences they would otherwise occur. More resources should be directed to prosecuting on the heaviest charges the evidence warrants.

There is an inherent difficulty with these cases, which involve child witnesses, and traumatized children at that. Prosecutors may hesitate to put children on the stand to be subjected to such a public process, not to mention cross-examination. But there is also a solvable difficulty here: Due to lack of resources and personnel, prosecutors cannot possibly keep up with the volume of sex abuse cases that exist. Here, more funding and more attorneys and staff dedicated to these crimes surely would help.

A recent case in Brooklyn of a rabbi who was credibly accused of sexually abusing two boys, but who was permitted to plead merely to "child endangerment," illustrates the problem: Because child endangerment is not a "sex crime," the perpetrator could not be added to a sex offender registry. In addition, the weaker charges led to probation rather than jail time.

When prosecutions in child abuse cases are watered down in this way, as they are far too often, the standard vicious cycle of child abuse continue: The predator avoids serious punishment, returns to ordinary life, and starts grooming the next victim, who is more than likely within the predator's own family or circle of friends.

One Argument Against the Death Penalty for Child Rape that Is Quite Unpersuasive: Fear of Deterring Reporting of the Crime

Opponents of the death penalty for child rape have argued that it is a bad idea, because it will deter reporting of the crime, given the severity of the punishment. That seems far-fetched, however. To the contrary, you might get more reporting if the victim thinks that the predator, if convicted, truly will no longer be able to inflict abuse on them. The same result would follow, however, if the justice system reliably put away known child abusers instead of cycling them back into society. Thus, the death penalty and life sentences have the capacity to motivate victims to report in order to remove the predator from their lives. (To be sure, survivors of child sex abuse face many hurdles to reporting, which may not be affected in any way whatsoever by the potential penalty.)

In sum, whether or not the Court upholds the death penalty for child abusers this Term, the entrenched barriers to identifying predators will not be eliminated, or even reduced. For that reason, from the perspective of the child being abused today or the survivor trying to cope in the wake of abuse decades ago, the case is a lot of hype - a paper battle that distracts from the far more essential battle for the reforms that are truly necessary if justice and decency are to be served.

Matzah Songs

2008-04-20T09:10:00.004-05:00

Passover and Jewish Survivors of Child Abuse

2008-04-18T16:57:00.002-05:00

Surviving Passover:
Jewish Survivors of Child Abuse (Incest, Emotional, Physical and Sexual Abuse)
© (2003, Revised 2006) by Na'ama Yehuda, MSC, SLP, TSHH and Vicki Polin, MA, ATR, LCPC
(Download PDF)

There are many issues surrounding holidays and childhood sexual abuse that have rarely, if ever been addressed in our communities. One of those issues pertains directly to surviving Jewish holidays.

It's not too surprising that many adult survivors of childhood abuse (emotional, physical and sexual abuse) have difficult times during Passover (Pesach), as this time of the year can bring up painful memories of families get together and that routines are changed. Plus there is the added stress of cleaning your home top to bottom, preparing, and "doing it right." These issues alone can be extremely stress producing; yet in a home where violence occurred, would most likely lead to an increase of abuse.

Parents who are already inclined to use their children as an outlet for emotions and urges, are even more likely to do so when under the pressure of increased anxiety.

Many survivors of childhood abuse report that they were abused more around and over a holiday period then any other time of the year. Remember Passover brings with it--on top of cooking and cleaning--an added financial burden.

This is written as a reminder to all survivors of child abuse -- YOU ARE NOT ALONE. It is not uncommon for symptoms of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) to emerge this time of year, even after times of relative remission and/or intensify in those already struggling.

It is not unusual for Survivors to experience an increase in disturbing thoughts, nightmares and flashbacks. Thoughts of self-harm, even suicide, may be an issue. The important thing to remember is these feelings are about the past, the abuse is over, and that it is of utmost importance for you to be kind to and gentle with yourself.

Over the years we have spoken to many adult survivors who find it very painful to even consider going to a seder. This is OK. Someday you may feel different, but if the pain is too intense, it is important that you do things that can be healing. Set healthy boundaries for yourself and do what feels safe for you. If you have a rabbi that is sensitive to child abuse issues, discuss these issues with him or her.

One survivor shared that she felt uncomfortable not doing anything for Pesach, so she'd rent the "Ten Commandments" each year on Seder nights and watch it, forming her own ritual of remembering the events that lead to the Seder night. Another survivor would invite other Jewish Survivors over to her home and they would use "The Survivors Haggadah" for their services. Another person used the time before Pesach for "spring cleaning" her relationships--reconnecting with friends with whom she feels safe, airing out the achievements of the last year and making resolutions for added liberation from her past for the coming year. The survivors above found a way to celebrate a "modified" Pesach, but there are many others for who just try to survive this time of year by pretending that there is no such thing as Pesach.

The goal is for you to do things that are healing and brings about an emotional freedom. Remember you are not alone, not wrong, not bad for having second and third and forth thoughts about how to celebrate and if to celebrate the holiday.

Look into yourself and see what you need, then do what you can to do it. Be kind to yourself for needing to make these adjustments. And remember, when Bney-Israel left Egypt to walk toward a new era--they were walking from a place they knew, but was of pain, to a place unknown, but free. The essence of the Seder night is to remember, and ask why, and be expected to understand and participate only to the extent one can.

Have a gentle, safe holiday!
***********************************

Passover Prayer On Behalf of Abused and Neglected Children
(Pesach, 2007) Author Unknown
(Download pdf)

The prayer below was written for protective parents and their loved ones, child abuse advocates, and all who care about children to recite at their passover seder. A spring onion is added to the seder plate, or placed on the table as a symbol.

The Passover Seder is a time to celebrate our freedom and remember those who still struggle for the freedoms they deserve. Freedom from tyranny, violence, and oppression is a core value for us as our ancestors have known slavery, and our heart goes out to the enslaved and the imprisoned of any race, culture or creed. Tonight we remember a group of individuals often forgotten, trapped by a kind of slavery so cruel, that society often looks the other way---children (including adult survivors of child abuse) enslaved in lives of abuse.

Today I remember ____________ (fill in name of a child or children you know trapped in lives of abuse. or substitute... "these children.") Though many of us have tried to free them, the Pharaohs in our generation have blocked our efforts or looked the other way. Our hearts ache knowing the pain these children live with day after day. They are not forgotten. With this prayer we share our commitment to find a way to liberate them from their lives of exploitation and tyranny.

This spring onion on the Seder plate is our symbol for these children and their plight. The shape of the onion reminds us of the whips used on slaves to keep them subjugated. The tears we shed from the onion remind us of the silent tears of these children waiting for rescue. The newness of the onion reminds us of the promise of hope, that one day these children can grow healthy and free from the tyranny they are living with today.

We pray for the wisdom to find an effective path to liberate these children. We pray for the courage to stand up to the Pharaoh's of our generation and speak the truth of what we know. We pray for the strength and fortitude to keep on fighting for their freedom.

May these children (including adult survivors) soon know the sweetness of freedom from violence and oppression and share Passover Seders and other celebrations of freedom, safely, with loved ones next year!
Amen.

Thank you SNAP for all your work!

2008-04-17T22:42:00.000-05:00

Vicki Polin writes:

Congratulation to Barbara Blaine, David Clohessy, Barbara Dorris and ALL members of SNAP!!

All day when I turned on the television or radio there were news blubs talking about Pope Benedict XVI visit in the US. What I think is extremely important was the fact that whenever the news media mentioned the Pope's visit the next statement had to do with the topic of child sexual abuse. I kept thinking what a major accomplishment this was. There's a lot more work to be done, yet we all need to thank and honor Barbara Blaine, David Clohessy, Barbara Dorris and all the other members of SNAP. This small group of people has made the Catholic world aware of the topic of clergy sexual abuse. Without their efforts The Awareness Center would not have been able to do the work we have been doing, let alone many other sexual violence survivor advocacy groups.

I'm still amazed at the fact that each time the news media mentions the Pope's visit, they always mention sexual abuse and the cover-ups.

My hope is that before Pope Benedict XVI leaves he will sit down with Barbara Blaine, David Clohessy and Barbara Dorris and come up with a plan in how changes will be implemented to keep children safe, insure that all offending priests, nuns and other members of the church will be prosecuted for their crimes, all books and records will be turned over for discovery and that all survivors abused by members of the Catholic church will receive at least 1.2 million dollars without having to file a civiil suit.

Barb, Barb and David thank you so much for the work you've been doing!

Vicki

Vicki Polin, MA, NCC, LCPC, ATR-BC

Founder, Executive Director -The Awareness Center, Inc.
(the international Jewish Coalition Against Sexual Abuse/Assault)
P.O. Box 65273, Baltimore, MD 21209
www.theawarenesscenter.org
443-857-5560

Rabbi Yehuda Kolko Cops A Plea

2008-04-15T09:05:00.001-05:00

The New York Daily News reported that Rabbi Yehuda Kolko plead guilty yesterday. Kolko received probation and manditory counseling. He will not spend time in jail, nor will he be on the National Sex Offender registry. I received the following note from The Awareness Center.

The Case of Rabbi Yehuda Kolko will not be listed on the National Sex Offender Registry, yet he is on The Awareness Center's web page. Unfortunately, without financial support The Awareness Center's site may not be available. If you think the community needs to be kept aware of the case of Rabbi Yehuda Kolko, please send your tax deductible donations to:

The Awareness Center, Inc.
P.O. Box 65273
Baltimore, MD 21209
www.theawarenesscenter.org

Don't Politicize Child Abuse Case

2008-04-14T13:17:00.001-05:00

From Vicki Polin
Though I am currently on a sabbatical I thought it was important to make the following comments.

Rabbi Levi Brackman / Vicki Polin

------------------------
RE: Don't Politicize Child Abuse Case
By Vicki Polin, MA, LCPC, NCC, ATR-BC
Executive Director - The Awareness Center, Inc.
www.theawarenesscenter.org

It was embarrassing to read Rabbi Levi Brackman article that appeared in YNET news (Israeli paper), "Don't Politicize Child Abuse Case", in which he speaks out about alleged cult leader, Rabbi Elior Chen.

When reading the article it is extremely obvious Rabbi Brackman lacks the needed education, knowledge and understanding on the issues of child abuse and neglect. In the credits at the bottom of his article it states that Rabbi Brackman's experience is in the business world and does not state his expertise in the issue he is speaking out upon. I was embarrassed for him that a newspaper such as YNET would allow Rabbi Brackman to promote his ignorance on such an important topic.

Rabbi Brackman must be in a state of denial when making blanket statement that "violence is less common in the haredi society." Statistics of abuse are the same in all societies, haredi (ultra religious) or not. The only difference is that the rabbis in the haredi communities do their best to cover up the reality of what is actually happening. Over the years I've seen over and over again, they do their best shame and blame victims into silence, and promote those who offend. This practice is not just limited to the haredi community, it's also happened with in the Catholic church.

The haredi community has a tendency to say if someone in their community is abusing a children (or a spouse), then that person is really not haredi -- that they are just pretending to be haredi. Yet these same individuals daven (pray) in their synagogues, keep kosher and shabbat. They even are allowed to work and spend all their time in the haredi world.

Statistics will show that one out of every four adults were sexually abused before they reach the age of eighteen. The statistics of physical and emotional abuse is much higher. Until proven differently, we have to believe the same is true in all communities, including the community that Rabbi Levi Brackman resides.

The only way things will ever change, and the world will be safe for our children is by speaking out publicly and by the news media publishing the stories of those who have been abused and the way our society (including the haredi world) deal with such cases. Unfortunately, Rabbi Brackman wants the tradition of silence to continue, which in the past lead to more children becoming victimized.

I think the most important thing to remember is that Rabbi Levi Brackman does not have the expertise in the field of child abuse to be making a public statement on such an important issue. Perhaps the best thing we can do to help Rabbi Brackman, is by everyone sending him articles and books on the topic of child abuse and neglect. Perhaps that will inspire him to research a topic thoroughly prior to embarrassing himself again in such a public venue.

Contact Information:
Rabbi Levi Brackman
3959 Ponderosa Lane
Evergreen, Colorado 80439
303-679-0613
levi@levibrackman.com

Something Our Rabbis Seem To Forget - Incest

2008-04-13T02:15:00.001-05:00

A friend writes:

Our rabbis always seem to be concerned about what exposing sexual abuse will have on family members of sex offenders. On thing they seem to neglect to look at is the fact that every incest survivors is the child of at least one sex offender. According to statistics 47% of all reported cases of child sexual abuse occur in the home. When our rabbis encourage people not to report sex crimes they are basically saying that it's OK for a father and or mother to continue sexually abusing their child.

The State of The Awareness Center -

2008-04-12T23:13:00.000-05:00

I communicated with Vicki Polin via e-mail regarding the following notice.

Vicki stated that the organization is not shutting down. She explained The Awareness Center need time to catch up with the work they already have been doing for the last seven years. The goal of the organization has always been educational.

Vicki went on to say that The Awareness Center can not keep up with the demands at this time. By taking down the web page is allowing there time to regroup and focus on fundraising efforts. The Awareness Center has been an volunteer based organization that has grown at such a rapid pace that it can't take on anything else until to can afford to hire mental health professionals who have experience working with the survivor population, a director of development and also someone experienced in web development.

Vicki also stated that various individuals offered to host the site free of charge. She stated the issue is not about hosting the site. The problem is that they need paid staff to go along with site. She went on to say that the organization has always been much more then a web page. She stated it's sort of like the "make a wish foundation" for Jewish survivors of sexual violence.

Dear Friends,

It saddens me a great deal to let you know that The Awareness Center site is no longer available. We are in hopes of finding a way to put it back up along with having a financially sound organization to go along with it. We are still looking for a self-motivated individual to become our Development Coordinator. This individual will be responsible for all aspects of fundraising. This is a volunteer position that can be made into a paid position by your successful grants

It's been a pleasure getting to know all of those who we have met over the years and are hopeful someday that the need for an organization like The Awareness Center will diminish.

If you would like to make a donation, please do so by sending a check to the address below.

Sincerely,

Vicki Polin, MA, NCC, LCPC, ATR-BC, Founder, Executive Director

The Awareness Center, Inc.
P.O. Box 65273

Baltimore, MD 21209

Vicki Polin Responds to Rabbi Yona Metzger's call on excommunication

2008-04-09T12:11:00.001-05:00

Rabbi Yona Metzger / Vicki Polin

Rabbi Yona Metzger on Child Abuse and The Case of Rabbi Elior Chen
by Vicki Polin, MA, NCC, LCPC, Executive Director - The Awareness Center
The Awareness Center's Daily Newsletter
April 8, 2008

It seems strange that Rabbi Yona Metzger would be making the following statement, especially since he was accused of sexual misconduct/clergy sexual abuse (with four men) several years ago.

I strongly disagree with the statement Rabbi Metzger made regarding excommunicating the parents of the children who were so horrendously abused. Even though the actions came from their own hands, I believe that they were being manipulated and were acting under the explicit directions of their spiritual leader/cult leader, Rabbi Elior Chen.

Many individuals who get involved with cults, often have histories of child abuse and or neglect. From past experience in working with ex-cult members, I found that women who have left abusive relationships are also more susceptible to getting involved in cult like groups.

The basic issue is that adult survivors of child abuse (emotional, physical and sexual abuse) and those battered as adults are looking for unconditional love. What happens is they get manipulated in believing that their leader represents "the truth." They no longer are able to access their ability to use deductive reasoning / critical thinking.

Though I do believe these parents should no longer have custody of their children, I do not believe that we should make blanket statements stating they should all be excommunicated. We need to look at each situation on a case by case basis. I also have mixed feelings about the parents and the criminal cases that will be brought up against them. If these parents were unable to access their critical thinking, would they then be considered mentally ill? Were they at the time of each act unable to discern right from wrong? I'm not trying to make excuses for their behavior, it's just that I think there is much more to the story then what we are reading in the newspapers. The parents psychiatric help and exit counseling. This can occur either in a prison or a psychiatric facility. I believe that the parents are most likely individuals who most likely have the potential for rehabilitation.

I do not believe this is true when talking about Rabbi Elior Chen. I do agree with Rabbi Metzger that Chen should loose his rabbinical title and believe he should spend the rest of his life in a prison. I do not believe he will ever be safe to be out with the rest of our society.

Below is the article that was in the Jerusalem Post, below that is information on Destructive Cults.

For more information on:

--------
Metzger: Abusive parents and rabbis should be 'excommunicated'
Jerusalem Post - April 9, 2008
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1207649968071&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Following a spate of allegations of child abuse in the religious community, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger called on rabbis to "unhesitatingly renounce" such violent acts.

In a statement released Tuesday night, Metzger said that abusive parents and rabbis must be "condemned" and "excommunicated."

He told community rabbis to express their disapproval and the disapproval of the Torah for such "acts of brutality."

_________________
Biderman's Chart of Coercion
http://members.aol.com/carol2180/biderman.htm

Most people who brainwash...use methods similar to those of prison guards who recognize that physical control is never easily accomplished without the cooperation of the prisoner. The most effective way to gain that cooperation is through subversive manipulation of the mind and feelings of the victim, who then becomes a psychological, as well as a physical, prisoner. (from an Amnesty International publication, "Report on Torture", which depicts the brainwashing of prisoners of war.

Isolation

• Deprives individual of social support, effectively rendering him unable to resist
• Makes individual dependent upon interrogator
• Develops an intense concern with self.

Once a person is away from longstanding emotional support and thus reality checks, it is fairly easy to set a stage for brainwashing. Spiritually abusive groups work to isolate individuals from friends and family, whether directly, by requiring the individuals to forsake friends and family for the sake of the "Kingdom" (group membership), or indirectly, by preaching the necessity to demonstrate one's love for God by "hating" one's father, mother, family, friends.

Abusive groups are not outward-looking, but inward-looking, insisting that members find all comfort and support and a replacement family within the group. Cut off from friends, relatives, previous relationships, abusive groups surround the recruits and hammer rigid ideologies into their consciousness, saturating their senses with specific doctrines and requirements of the group.
Isolated from everyone but those within the group, recruits become dependent upon group members and leaders and find it difficult if not impossible to offer resistance to group teachings. They become self-interested and hyper-vigilant, very fearful should they incur the disapproval of the group, which now offers the only support available to them which has group approval.

Warning signs
The seed of extremism exists wherever a group demands all the free time of a member, insisting he be in church every time the doors are open and calling him to account if he isn't, is critical or disapproving of involvements with friends and family outside the group, encourages secrecy by asking that members not share what they have seen or heard in meetings or about church affairs with outsiders, is openly, publicly, and repeatedly critical of other churches or groups (especially if the group claims to be the only one which speaks for God), is critical when members attend conferences, workshops or services at other churches, checks up on members in any way, i.e., to determine that the reason they gave for missing a meeting was valid, or makes attendance at all church functions mandatory for participating in church ministry or enjoying other benefits of church fellowship.

Once a member stops interacting openly with others, the group's influence is all that matters. He is bombarded with group values and information and there is no one outside the group with whom to share thoughts or who will offer reinforcement or affirmation if the member disagrees with or doubts the values of the group. The process of isolation and the self-doubt it creates allow the group and its leaders to gain power over the members. Leaders may criticize major and minor flaws of members, sometimes publicly, or remind them of present or past sins. They may call members names, insult them or ignore them, or practice a combination of ignoring members at some times and receiving them warmly at others, thus maintaining a position of power (i.e., the leaders call the shots.)

The sense of humiliation makes members feel they deserve the poor treatment they are receiving and may cause them to allow themselves to be subjected to any and all indignities out of gratefulness that one as unworthy as they feel is allowed to participate in the group at all. When leaders treat the member well occasionally, they accept any and all crumbs gratefully. Eventually, awareness of how dependent they are on the group and gratitude for the smallest attention contributes to an increasing sense of shame and degradation on the part of the members, who begin to abuse themselves with "litanies of self-blame," i.e., "No matter what they do to me, I deserve it, as sinful and wretched as I am. I deserve no better. I have no rights but to go to hell. I should be grateful for everything I receive, even punishment."

Monopolization of Perception

• Fixes attention upon immediate predicament; fosters introspection
• Eliminates stimuli competing with those controlled by captor
• Frustrates all actions not consistent with compliance
Abusive groups insist on compliance with trivial demands related to all facets of life: food, clothing, money, household arrangements, children, conversation. They monitor members' appearances, criticize language and child care practices. They insist on precise schedules and routines, which may change and be contradictory from day to day or moment to moment, depending on the whims of group leaders.
At first, new members may think these expectations are unreasonable and may dispute them, but later, either because they want to be at peace or because they are afraid, or because everyone else is complying, they attempt to comply. After all, what real difference does it make if a member is not allowed to wear a certain color, or to wear his hair in a certain way, to eat certain foods, or say certain words, to go certain places, watch certain things, or associate with certain individuals. In the overall scheme of things, does it really matter? In fact, in the long run, the member begins to reason, it is probably good to learn these disciplines, and after all, as they have frequently been reminded, they are to submit to spiritual authority as unto the Lord.. Soon it becomes apparent that the demands will be unending, and increasing time and energy are focused on avoiding group disapproval by doing something "wrong." There is a feeling of walking on eggs. Everything becomes important in terms of how the group or its leaders will respond, and members' desires, feelings and ideas become insignificant. Eventually, members may no longer even know what they want, feel or think. The group has so monopolized all of the members' perceptions with trivial demands that members lose their perspective as to the enormity of the situation they are in.
The leaders may also persuade the members that they have the inside track with God and therefore know how everything should be done. When their behavior results in disastrous consequences, as it often does, the members are blamed. Sometimes the leaders may have moments, especially after abusive episodes, when they appear to humble themselves and confess their faults, and the contrast of these moments of vulnerability with their usual pose of being all-powerful endears them to members and gives hope for some open communication.
Threats sometimes accompany all of these methods. Members are told they will be under God's judgment, under a curse, punished, chastised, chastened if they leave the group or disobey group leaders. Sometimes the leaders, themselves, punish the members, and so members can never be sure when leaders will make good on the threats which they say are God's idea. The members begin to focus on what they can do to meet any and all group demands and how to preserve peace in the short run. Abusive groups may remove children from their parents, control all the money in the group, arrange marriages, destroy personal items of members or hide personal items.

Warning signs:
Preoccupation with trivial demands of daily life, demanding strict compliance with standards of appearance, dress codes, what foods are or are not to be eaten and when, schedules, threats of God's wrath if group rules are not obeyed, a feeling of being monitored, watched constantly by those in the group or by leaders. In other words, what the church wants, believes and thinks its members should do becomes everything, and you feel preoccupied with making sure you are meeting the standards. It no longer matters whether you agree that the standards are correct, only that you follow them and thus keep the peace and in the good graces of leaders.

Induced Debility and Exhaustion

People subjected to this type of spiritual abuse become worn out by tension, fear and continual rushing about in an effort to meet group standards. They must often avoid displays of fear, sorrow or rage, since these may result in ridicule or punishment. Rigid ministry demands and requirements that members attend unreasonable numbers of meetings and events makes the exhaustion and ability to resist group pressure even worse.

Warning Signs:

Feelings of being overwhelmed by demands, close to tears, guilty if one says no to a request or goes against a church standards. Being intimidated or pressured into volunteering for church duties and subjected to scorn or ridicule when one does not "volunteer." Being rebuked or reproved when family or work responsibilities intrude on church responsibilities.

Occasional Indulgences

• Provides motivation for compliance

Leaders of abusive groups often sense when members are making plans to leave and may suddenly offer some kind of indulgence, perhaps just love or affection, attention where there was none before, a note or a gesture of concern. Hope that the situation in the church will change or self doubt ("Maybe I'm just imagining it's this bad,") then replace fear or despair and the members decide to stay a while longer. Other groups practice sporadic demonstrations of compassion or affection right in the middle of desperate conflict or abusive episodes. This keeps members off guard and doubting their own perceptions of what is happening.

Some of the brainwashing techniques described are extreme, some groups may use them in a disciplined, regular manner while others use them more sporadically. But even mild, occasional use of these techniques is effective in gaining power.

Warning Signs:

Be concerned if you have had an ongoing desire to leave a church or group you believe may be abusive, but find yourself repeatedly drawn back in just at the moment you are ready to leave, by a call, a comment or moment of compassion. These moments, infrequent as they may be, are enough to keep hope in change alive and thus you sacrifice years and years to an abusive group.

Devaluing the Individual

• Creates fear of freedom and dependence upon captors
• Creates feelings of helplessness
• Develops lack of faith in individual capabilities

Abusive leaders are frequently uncannily able to pick out traits church members are proud of and to use those very traits against the members. Those with natural gifts in the areas of music may be told they are proud or puffed up or "anxious to be up front" if they want to use their talents and denied that opportunity. Those with discernment are called judgmental or critical, the merciful are lacking in holiness or good judgment, the peacemakers are reminded the Lord came to bring a sword, not peace. Sometimes efforts are made to convince members that they really are not gifted teachers or musically talented or prophetically inclined as they believed they were. When members begin to doubt the one or two special gifts they possess which they have always been sure were God-given, they begin to doubt everything else they have ever believed about themselves, to feel dependent upon church leaders and afraid to leave the group. ("If I've been wrong about even *that*, how can I ever trust myself to make right decisions ever again?").

Warning Signs:

Unwillingness to allow members to use their gifts. Establishing rigid boot camp-like requirements for the sake of proving commitment to the group before gifts may be exercised. Repeatedly criticizing natural giftedness by reminding members they must die to their natural gifts, that Paul, after all, said, "When I'm weak, I'm strong," and that they should expect God to use them in areas other than their areas of giftedness. Emphasizing helps or service to the group as a prerequisite to church ministry. This might take the form of requiring that anyone wanting to serve in any way first have the responsibility of cleaning toilets or cleaning the church for a specified time, that anyone wanting to sing in the worship band must first sing to the children in Sunday School, or that before exercising any gifts at all, members must demonstrate loyalty to the group by faithful attendance at all functions and such things as tithing. No consideration is given to the length of time a new member has been a Christian or to his age or station in life or his unique talents or abilities. The rules apply to everyone alike. This has the effect of reducing everyone to some kind of lowest common denominator where no one's gifts or natural abilities are valued or appreciated, where the individual is not cherished for the unique blessing he or she is to the body of Christ, where what is most highly valued is service, obedience, submission to authority, and performance without regard to gifts or abilities or, for that matter, individual limitations.

----------------------------
Characteristics of a Destructive Cult
reFOCUS
What is a Cult?

A cult is a group or movement exhibiting a great or excessive devotion or dedication to some person, idea, or thing and employing unethically manipulative techniques of persuasion and control (e.g., isolation from former friends and family, debilitation, use of special methods to heighten suggestibility and subservience, powerful group pressures, information management, suspension of individuality or critical judgment, promotion of total dependency on the group and fear of leaving it, etc.) designed to advance the goals of the group’s leaders to the actual or possible detriment of members, their families, or the community. (West & Langone, 1986)

Characteristics of a Destructive Cult
1. Authoritarian pyramid structure with authority at the top

2. Charismatic or messianic leader(s) (Messianic meaning they either say they are God OR that they alone can interpret the scriptures the way God intended.....the leaders are self-appointed.

3. Deception in recruitment and/or fund raising

4. Isolation from society -- not necessarily physical isolation like on some compound in Waco, but this can be psychological isolation -- the rest of the world is not saved, not Christian, not transformed (whatever) -- the only valid source of feedback and information is the group.

5. Use of mind control techniques (we use Dr. Robert Jay Lifton's criteria from chapter 22 of his book Thought Reform & the Psychology of Totalism to compare whether the eight psychological and social methods he lists are present in the group at question)

• Milieu Control: Control of the environment and communication within the environment

• Mystical Manipulation: Seeks to promote specific patterns of behavior and emotion in such a way that it appears to have arisen spontaneously from within the environment, while it actually has been orchestrated totalist leaders claim to be agents chosen by God, history, or some supernatural force, to carry out the mystical imperative the "principles" (God-centered or otherwise) can be put forcibly and claimed exclusively, so that the cult and its beliefs become the only true path to salvation (or enlightenment)

• Demand for Purity: The world becomes sharply divided into the pure and the impure, the absolutely good (the group/ideology) and the absolutely evil (everything outside the group) one must continually change or conform to the group "norm"; tendencies towards guilt and shame are used as emotional levers for the group's controlling and manipulative influences

• Confession: Cultic confession is carried beyond its ordinary religious, legal and therapeutic expressions to the point of becoming a cult in itself sessions in which one confesses to one's sin are accompanied by patterns of criticism and self-criticism, generally transpiring within small groups with an active and dynamic thrust toward personal change

• Sacred Science: The totalist milieu maintains an aura of sacredness around its basic doctrine or ideology, holding it as an ultimate moral vision for the ordering of human existence questioning or criticizing those basic assumptions is prohibited a reverence is demanded for the ideology/doctrine, the originators of the ideology/doctrine, the present bearers of the ideology/doctrine offers considerable security to young people because it greatly simplifies the world and answers a contemporary need to combine a sacred set of dogmatic principles with a claim to a science embodying the truth about human behavior and human psychology

• Loading the Language: Words are given new meanings -- the outside world does not use the words or phrases in the same way -- it becomes a "group" word or phrase

• Doctrine Over Person: If one questions the beliefs of the group or the leaders of the group, one is made to feel that there is something inherently wrong with them to even question -- it is always "turned around" on them and the questioner/criticizer is questioned rather than the questions answered directly the underlying assumption is that doctrine/ideology is ultimately more valid, true and real than any aspect of actual human character or human experience and one must subject one's experience to that "truth" the experience of contradiction can be immediately associated with guilt one is made to feel that doubts are reflections of one's own evil when doubt arises, conflicts become intense.

• Dispensing of Existence: Since the group has an absolute or totalist vision of truth, those who are not in the group are bound up in evil, are not enlightened, are not saved, and do not have the right to exist; impediments to legitimate being must be pushed away or destroyed one outside the group may always receive their right of existence by joining the group; fear manipulation -- if one leaves this group, one leaves God or loses their salvation/transformation, or something bad will happen to them; the group is the "elite", outsiders are "of the world", "evil", "unenlightened", etc.

Why Is A Jewish Music Blogger Writing About Tranquility Bay?

2008-04-09T09:35:00.000-05:00

I wanted to make sure everyone is aware of the posting written by Blogger DM on Isaac Hersh and the case involving Tranquility Bay.

Read: Why Is A Jewish Music Blogger Writing About Tranquility Bay?

Issac Hersh Will NOT Be Free Until He is Back Home In Texas!

2008-04-08T16:21:00.001-05:00

Tragedy Then Triumph: The Isaac Hersh Story
By: Zev Eleff
The Commentator (YU)
April 7, 2008

Isaac Hersh /Tranquility Bay

A month ago, Tzvi Gluck got word of a troubled Jewish teen being treated in Jamaica Estates, New York. A busy investment banker from Brooklyn who doubles as a professional askan, Gluck gave the matter very little thought, if any. After all, Gluck said to himself, there are many frum Jews in Jamaica Estates.

After hearing about 16 year-old Isaac Hersh a few more times in the ensuing weeks, Gluck received confirmation that the boy was being held against his will at Tranquility Bay, a behavior modification center located in Jamaica - the country.

There are very few frum Jews in Jamaica.

What has happened since is both supernatural and highly political.

Despite its name, Tranquility Bay has been likened to a concentration camp. Touted by some as a facility proven to straighten out severely disturbed youngsters, Tranquility Bay's staff practices severe disciplinary measures to accomplish its goals. Just for glancing the wrong way, detainees of the boot camp are forced to lie down on mats for 30-hour periods.

And that is the most lenient punishment doled out by the disciplinary academy's correctional officers.

What's more, aside from housing about 300 American teens, reports indicate that local authorities use the tightly guarded compound as a jail. At least one of Isaac's roommates was convicted of murder.

Never short of contacts and resources, Gluck researched the camp for weeks.

Gluck's informants also uncovered critical details about exactly who was this young teen so many people were now planning to save. Isaac Hersh is the son of Michael Hersh, the now former CEO of Hatzolah. Reports printed previously in newspapers and on blogs indicate that Hersh had trouble handling his two twin sons and used prescription medication to "control" them when the family lived in Israel for a time. Now back in America, Michael Hersh - who was making somewhere in the vicinity of a quarter-million dollars a year without any major medical or business experience - could afford to send his "Yitzy" to board out-of-town and attend school away from his parents.

Never given much of a chance before, Isaac finally found something like a home in Houston. There, Isaac lived with Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe, director of the Torah Outreach Center of Houston, and his family. Isaac attended Robert M. Beren Academy, an Orthodox day school affiliated with Yeshiva University. Although nobody contended that Isaac did not struggle academically in Houston, contrary to his father's allegations, all agreed that his behavior was stellar at Beren Academy.

"Isaac was a fine and upstanding citizen of the school community," wrote Head of School Rabbi Ari Sigel in a letter. "He was warm and friendly to everyone he encountered and we did not, at any time, have discipline issues with him."

Rabbi Segal added that "for anyone to suggest that he was a behavioral problem during his time in Houston, would constitute an outright lie."

The only one who saw a flaw in Isaac's behavior was his father.

At the end of the school last year, the Wolbes thought Isaac could use a break. In addition, the Wolbes were expecting a child that summer and suggested to Isaac that he look for a summer job in Toronto, where he had spent some time during his travels and still maintained a very good reputation.

To do this, however, Isaac would need to have his estranged father, still the boy's legal guardian, sign various government forms to obtain a worker's visa. After some discussion, both sides agreed that Isaac would briefly return to New York where his father would sign the documents.

Nothing was ever signed. Instead, Michael Hersh, with a flight ticket in hand, forced his son to LaGuardia Airport. Evidently, Hersh was told that one or two Jewish families with troubled boys had sent their sons to Tranquility Bay for successful "correctional therapy."

While being pushed in the direction of the terminal, Isaac screamed, "Help! I'm being kidnapped." Nobody helped and Isaac was on his way to Tranquility Bay where he would stay for the next ten months.

At last, a camp detainee who had befriended Isaac somehow reached a computer and, as instructed by Isaac, emailed Rabbi Wolbe. In the email, the already distressed Rabbi Wolbe was told that Isaac was being tortured and forced to lie down on mats for months. Something had to be done quickly.

On March 19, the eve of Purim, a group that included Gluck and with the financial support of Gluck's employer, Joseph Sharashefsky, readied themselves for a private flight to Jamaica. Once there, a small delegation would plead with the American Embassy to release Isaac.

The question was then raised: who would be boarding the plane for the Jamaica rescue mission?

After dozens of consultations, it was decided that Gluck would be joined by Rabbi Wolbe and his father, Rabbi Avorhom Wolbe of Monsey, and Yeshiva University's Straus Professor of Psychology and Education Dr. David Pelcovitz.

David Pelcovitz, PhD

The jet touched down on Jamaican soil at 6:30 a.m., on Thursday, March 27. Although the group was received by the American Embassy, there was little any official could do.

Dr. Pelcovitz explained to the Embassy's officials that as an expert on trauma, and based on the email Rabbi Wolbe received, it was imperative that the psychologist see Isaac immediately.

But their hands were tied. The Embassy would bring Isaac to their headquarters, but the only two conditions whereby Dr. Pelcovitz could be permitted to assess the psychological fitness of the teen were either by obtaining consent of the boy's father - not happening - or from Isaac, himself.

"When are you bringing him to the Embassy," the rescuers asked.

"We're not allowed to say," the US officials answered.

"Where are you bringing him from?"

"Not going to tell you."

Luckily, the group's Jamaican driver, Garfield, not only knew where the unmarked facility was located, but was familiar with the building's entrances and exits, as well. Leaving the younger Rabbi Wolbe at the main entrance, the others stationed themselves at a back entrance. Not too long after, Isaac, escorted by a team of Tranquility Bay guards, exited the building's back entrance, recognized the elder Rabbi Wolbe and made a break for it.

After a few moments of tearful hugs, Isaac readily agreed to discuss all details of his dreadful experience at the camp. According to one account, members of the New York team and the Embassy cried uncontrollably as Isaac recounted the events of his stay at Tranquility Bay. In one of the easier diagnoses of his career, Dr. Pelcovitz confirmed that Isaac had been physically and mentally abused at the camp.

Michael Hersh / Rabbi Aharon Schecter/Steve Mostofsky
In the meantime, Tzvi Gluck became acutely aware of two obstacles preventing the final pieces of Isaac's rescue mission. First, the passports of all four members of the rescue team were suspended. Both Michael Hersh and his lawyer, Shlomo Mostofsky have since claimed that they knew nothing of the suspended passports.

When contacted for this story, Mostavsky, who also serves as President for the National Council of Young Israel, declined comment.

Aside from being temporarily stuck in Central America, the second problem incurred by the team was that Isaac, according to US regulations, could not be released from Tranquility Bay unless authorized by his father.

The first issue proved not to be a much of a problem. After a few phone calls to higher-ups that included the likes of Sen. Hillary Clinton, holds on all passports were quickly removed.

The second hurdle was trickier. Members of the Embassy urged the group to continue their fight in the courtroom. After all, now that Dr. Pelcovitz had thoroughly analyzed the teen, relieving Isaac from his parents' custody seemed merely a formality. Yet, with the boy's testimony reverberating in his mind, Dr. Pelcovitz believed he could not remain in Jamaica one minute longer.

With considerable help, Dr. Pelcovitz made contact with Mr. Hersh, his lawyer, and local renowned rabbinic authority, to plead on the boy's behalf. Finally, after deliberation with his gedolim and lawyers, Michael Hersh relented. All parties agreed that there would be ample time to fight a custody battle after Isaac returned to American soil at an undisclosed location.

The rescue team prepared to depart Jamaica with one extra passenger the same day they had arrived, at 11:30 p.m.

As they fastened their seatbelts, the Rabbis Wolbe gazed at the child whom they were starting to believe they would never see again. Seated nearby, knowing that his line of work provides few opportunities for joyful tears, the trauma expert tried his best to take in the moment while the investment banker who doubles as a professional askan planned his next adventure.

And with a cell phone attached to his ear, sixteen year-old Isaac Hersh spoke to his grandparents, themselves survivors of a Holocaust over 60 years ago, for the first time in almost a year.

"Zayde, now we're all survivors." Isaac cried.

And some of us are superheroes.

Naomi Ragen on Rabbi Elior Chen - Is this a case of Ritual Abuse?

2008-04-08T09:51:00.001-05:00

Ritual Abuse is an extreme sadistic form of abuse of children and non-consenting adults. It is methodical, systematic sexual, physical, emotional and spiritual abuse, which often includes mind control, torture, and highly illegal and immoral activities such as murder, child pornography and prostitution. The abuse is justified by a religious or political ideology.

Friends,

On the cover of yesterday's newspaper, Yediot Acharonot, is a photo of hammers, knives, guns, turpentine, and heaters all of which - according to the newspaper -were used to torture small children allegedly at the behest of a so-called haredi Rabbi, Elior Chen.

According to the article, a four year old is in the hospital with irreversible brain damage from one of Chen's "hassidim", David Kugman. Chen and Kugman have fled the country and are now
in Canada, along with at least one family of Chen's "hassidim," the family of Joseph Fisher. Chen is suspected of leading a cult that believed that torturing children would remove the "devil" from them. The removal of the devil, according to notebooks found in Chen's apartment filled with his instructions, included force-feeding toddlers drinks of alcohol and turpentine.

Making them eat feces. Forcing them against electric heaters until their skin turned black then pouring alcohol on the wounds. Stuffing their mouths with skullcaps and taping them closed, and then zipping them into suitcases for days. Leaving stones on the Shabbat "blech"all day and then placing the stones on the tender skin of these babies.

The following is excerpted from an article in Haaretz on April 8 by Uri Blau, Yair Ettinger, Jonathan Lis and Ofra Edelman:

"Chen may be meeting other members of the sect in Canada, where the family of one of the members lives, according to a friend of Chen's who is familiar with the group but doesn't belong to it. The friend said Chen fled with Joseph Fisher, whose name was not mentioned in an indictment filed yesterday against the mother of the children suspected of being abused by Chen's followers. The remand of the mother was extended Sunday until April 14.

Two of the family's eight children, aged 4 and 5, were hospitalized in serious condition two weeks ago, after Chen allegedly ordered two of his followers to discipline the children by beating, burning, pushing and shaking them, and tying them up as a way of "correcting" their behavior.

The 4-year-old remains in a coma. Police suspect that Chen's supporters also doused the children in hot and cold water and broke their bones with hammers and blows. The mother was charged with forcing the children to eat feces, beating them unconscious and locking them up in a suitcase for three days.

Jerusalem police also arrested an additional suspect in the case, and have issued a gag order regarding his identity. The Magistrate's Court extended his remand by five days.

Chen and three of his supporters allegedly began providing the family with "educational lessons" several months ago. They allegedly kicked the father out of his home and began abusing several of the family's eight children, especially the two youngest.

Chen and Fisher left the country legally, and their exit was registered at border control. Afterward, their wives and children went into hiding. The Fisher apartment has been cleared out and its contents have been placed in storage.

Police said they do not know the location of Chen's and Fisher's families, but Chen's friend said they were hoping to go to Canada as well and may have already left the country.

Chen and his supporters chose Canada in part, the source said, because "the extradition law is tough" there. "Only in very exceptional cases does Canada extradite," he said. "

All families with children involved in this cult are IN IMMINENT DANGER if even a fraction of these allegations turn out to be true. The people involved all dress as haredi Jews and are most likely to live in a haredi neighborhood. Other members of the cult are still in Israel. Please keep your eyes and ears open and report anything that might be helpful to the authorities. The heart weeps and the heart cannot fathom such cruelty. As former Chief Rabbi Yisroel Meir Lau said: "Judaism cannot justify the tears of helpless child...I call on every mother in Israel to recognize that not every person who wraps himself in the title of Rabbi is deserving of thier title... Is the terror of a mother towards her children any different from a terrorist who spills innocent blood?"

This is the worst case of child abuse in Israeli history. Even the police are in shock.

-- Naomi Ragen

Message to Isaac Hersh From A Survivor of Physical and Emotional Abuse

2008-04-07T23:53:00.000-05:00

The following letter was sent anonymously.

Isaac Hersh

I'm worried about Isaac Hersh
Is no news good news?

By Anonymous

As a child I was severely abused in my home until the time I was placed in foster care. I know first hand the terror that goes on day after day, never knowing what will come next. I remember feeling so desperate that I attempted suicide.

I can't stop thinking about Isaac Hersh and what he must have gone through while he was imprisoned at Tranquility Bay. I'm so concerned for him because I've read on line that he is still not safe. That Isaac is not with the family in Texas who seems to love and care for him. If I was him I think I might have my moments that I might loose hope of ever being free.

I haven't heard any concrete information on how Isaac Hersh is doing? I've read on blogs his current foster parents are very much hooked into the system that help land Isaac at Tranquility Bay.

I've heard rumors that he is awaiting a psychological consult so that the judge will determine which is the best place for Isaac to live. If the judge reads this, please free Isaac. Let him go back down to Texas.

I personally know what it's like to be waiting and waiting for your life to become stable. To be in an environment that is safe, free of emotional and physical harm. I can only imagine what Isaac is going through.

I loved my parents. Part of me always wanted to be with them. While I was growing up I always dreamed of going back home. My fantasy was that my parents would be loving and kind. They would be like the parents in the "Brady Bunch." There have been many times I tried to go back home. Each time I ended up getting hurt. Now that I'm in my thirties I still can't go back home. To this day my parents try to manipulate me and as of last year was physically abusive towards me.

I don't trust that Dr. David Pelcovitz is looking after Isaac Hersh's best interest. I think he's more interested in the political game that the rabbis are playing. I also don't trust anyone except for the foster parent who went down to free Isaac. I look at that rabbi as being a real mench. I just hope he doesn't try to make Isaac frum, unless that's something Isaac wants for himself. Isaac needs to figure out for himself who he is and what he believes without any pressure from the outside. He needs a lot of time to heal.

Isaac, if you read this message, please know that you are not alone. I pray for you every day. Like many of us, we only want you to know freedom and for you to live in a nonviolent, kind and loving world.

Why Won't Israel Name Alleged Sex Offenders?

2008-04-07T17:02:00.001-05:00

I keep reading case after case of those arrested and convicted of sexual offenses in Israel, yet rarely do they name the monsters that commit these crimes. Below is another one of those cases. If the statistics are correct a sex offender will molest at least 117 time prior to being outed. By naming alleged and convicted offenders you give the opportunity for survivors to come forward and also let them see they were not alone.

Man Convicted of indecent acts against daughter
Jerusalem Post
April 6, 2008

The Tel Aviv District Court on Sunday convicted a 59-
year-old man from Netanya of committing indecent acts against his daughter over a period of two years, when she was aged between seven and nine.

The acts were carried out almost daily in the family's living room and in the girl's bedroom while she was sleeping.
In his ruling, the judge noted that in 2002, complaints were filed against the man for allegedly abusing his daughter, son and his daughter's friend between 1995-1996. However the case was closed due to lack of evidence.
The girl, now an IDF soldier, turned to her father in court and told him she was testifying against him so that her younger brother wouldn't end up like him.
The same court also indicted 24-year-old Beersheba resident Yishai Cohen on Sunday on suspicion of committing indecent acts against three minors.
Yishai was arrested last Wednesday in Bnei Brak after he was identified by a six-year-old girl as the man who had abused her. He then confessed to having committed indecent acts against the other young girls.
Here's more unnamed cases that are on The Awareness Center's site.

Case of the Unnamed Kidnapping Chazen /Cantor (Toronto, Canada) (Accused of kidnapping young boys from Europe and bringing them to Toronto, Canada)
Case of the Unnamed New York Rabbi Who Has An Unhealthy Interest In Teenage Boys
Case of the Unnamed Rabbi - Principal Who Inpregnated A Girl With Learning Disabilities (There is a Call for Action on this case. The Awareness Center is looking for all the information we can find regarding the Rabbi-Prinicipal who inpregnated a girl with learning disabilities at school he was principal at.)
Case of The Unnamed Orthodox Rabbi (Quebec, Canada) (An undercover reporter posed as an employee of an escort service. One of her two clients included a Hasidic rabbi, who masturbated in a motel room while looking at pornography on television and at the reporter in her underwear.)
Case of 40-year-old man residing in an ultra-orthodox yeshiva (Several yeshiva students have testified in the case and verified suspicions that a 40-year-old man who resides in the yeshiva sexually assaulted them).
Case of Several Unnamed Child Sex Offenders in Har Nof (Jerusalem, Israel) (Outlines several cases of alleged child sex offenders in the charedi town of Har Nof)
Case of Two Unnamed Adolescent Males in Rehovot (Jerusalem, Israel) (Two adolescent males were arrested after accusations were made that they beat and sexually assaulted a seventeen year old female for over a sex month period).
Case of Two Unnamed 14-year-old Sex Offenders (Convicted of indecent acts against a five- year-old girl)
Case of the Unnamed Abusive Mother in Jerusalem (Jerusalem, Israel)
Case of Three Unnamed Babysitting Youths (Tel Aviv, Israel) (Convicted and sentenced to two years' probation and public service)
Case of the Unnamed Babysitting Sex Offender (Kibbutz Misgav Am, Israel) (Convicted and sentanced to 28 months after sexually assauling a five-year-old. The criminal was a relative of the girl for whom he was a babysitter).
Case of the Unnamed Be'er Sheva Sex Offender (Be'er Sheva, Israel) (Convicted of sexually molesting a four-year-old girl and of raping a middle-aged woman).
Case of the Unnamed B'Nai Torah Congegation - Hillel Community Day School janitor (Boca Raton, FL) (Accused of child molestation).
Case of the Unnamed Haredi Friend of an Orthodox Singer (Jerusalem, Israel) (Two haredi men, YeedleWerdyger and an unnamed friend, were arrested for enticing girls, some of whom were below the age of 16, to take dangerous drugs and then to have sexual relations with them).
Case of the Unnamed Cook at Camp Kee Tov, Troy, MO (near St. Louis) (Camp Kee Tov was accused of covering up sexual abuse by an employee).
Case of the Unnamed Cop (Tel Aviv Israel) (Convicted of sexually assaulting his younger brother)
Case of the Unnamed Elementary School Principal (Haifa, Israel) (Convicted of sexually abusing students, aged eight to eleven).
Case of the Unnamed Father committing Incest (Eilat, Israel) (Convicted of sexually assaulting his eleven children. Serving a 10-year term).
Case of Unnamed Father committing Incest in Karmiel, Israel (Allegations that a father had raped his daughter for the last eight years).
Case of Unnamed Father committing Incest at Kibbutz Evron - Nahariya, Israel (Allegations that a father had sexual relations with his 12-year-old daughter).
Case of the Unnamed Fifty-Five-Year-Old Father (Tel Aviv, Israel) (Charged with molesting a nine-year-old girl several times)
Case of Unnamed Fifty-One-Year-Old Father Committing Incest (Central Israel) (Charged a 51-year-old man from the center of the country with raping and sodomizing his nine-year-old daughter. The man had been pardoned five years previously after being convicted of sodomizing and abusing another man.)
Case of the Unnamed Internet Pedophile (Kfar Sava, Israel) (Arrested on suspicions he molested at least six children between the ages of 8 and 15 after luring them via the Internet.)
Case of the Unnamed Kemp Hills Juvenile Sex Offenders (Silver Springs, MD) (Allegations have been made that children from the same family have been molesting other children in the neighborhood. It has been suggested that the chldren who are offending are"sexually reactive". Allegations have also been a made against the parents of the alleged juvenile offenders).
Case of the Unnamed Father committing Incest at Kibbutz Evron - Nahariya, Israel (Allegations that a father had sexual relations with his 12-year-old daughter).
Case of Unnamed Father committing incest on his two daughters (Zevulun, Israel) (Arrested on suspicion of having sexual relations with his four-and five-year-old daughters).
Case of the Unnamed Father committing Incest from Delaware (New Castle, DE) (Father accused of alleged child molestation)
Case of the Unnamed Father committing Incest in a Mazda 323 (Be'er Sheva and Negev, Israel) (Accused of being a serial child rapist)
Case of the Unnamed Father committing Incest who is Fiftyone-years-old (Central Israel) (Charged a 51-year-old man from Central Israel, with raping and sodomizing his nine-year-old daughter. The man had been pardoned five years previously after being convicted of sodomizing and abusing another man).
Case of the Unnamed Soviet Father committing Incest (Rishon Letzion, Israel) (Accused of sexually and physically assaulting his 17 year old daughter).
Case of the Unnamed Father who Sold his Mentally-Handicapped Daughter (Central Israel) (Convicted & sentenced to 14 years' for selling his 11- year-old mentally-handicapped daughter to a friend to rape in exchange for NIS 50 ($12.00).
Case of Unnamed Father/Grandfather Vs. State of Israel Vs.(Jerusalem, Israel) (Convicted - 68 year old Israeli religious man pled guilty to repeated molestation of his granddaughter, was sentenced to 19 years in jail.
Case of the Unnamed Father/Grandfather (Ashkelon, Israel) (Accused of molesting his daughter and granddaughter)
Case of the Unnamed Grandfather (Tel Aviv) (Charged with raping and sodomizing two of his grandchildren).
Case of the Unnamed Female (Three) Teenagers who Beat and Sexually Assault Younger Girl (Rishon Letzion, Israel) (Accused of molesting at least 2 younger girls in the neighborhood).
Case of the Unnamed Fifty-eight-year-old man from Petah Tikva, Israel (Charged in Tel Aviv District Court with repeatedly raping the 10- year-old daughter of his girlfriend over a three-year period).
Case of the Unnamed Fiftyfive-year-old Man (Tel Aviv) (Charged with molesting a nine-year-old girl several times). .
Case of Unnamed Florida pedophile who works with Jewish youth (FL) (Accused of molesting children in his care)
Case of the Unnamed Forth Individual (Jerusalem, Israel) (Accused of distributing child pornography over the Internet, a gag order has been placed on the name).
Case of the Unnamed Fortysix-year-old Man (Herzliya, Israel) (Charged with molested a 10-year-old neighborhood girl several times from 1989 through 1991 in his car. Also allegedly took the girl to a public park, waiting until other children left to abuse her).
Case of Four Unnamed Israeli soldiers (Israel) (Suspected of raping a female soldier while on vacation in the southern town of Eilat. Another soldier is suspected of witnessing the rape without trying to prevent it.)
Case of the Unnamed Four Suspected Web Pedophiles (Jerusalem, Israel) (Arrested in connection with an international child pornography ring. Also see:Case of Yoav Biran and Case of Rafael Kaplanovsky)
Case of the Unnamed Fourteen-year-old boy (Haifa, Israel) (Accused of the rape of a five-year-old girl and a six-year-old girl).
Case of the Unnamed Fourteen-year-old Rapist (Convicted and sentenced a 14-year-old boy to 15 years in prison and three years of probation for the rape and murder of a five-year-old girl).
Case of Two Unnamed 14-year-old Sex Offenders (Jerusalem, Israel) (Convicted of indecent acts against a five- year-old girl).
Case of the Unnamed Gang Rapes (Rishon Letzion and Ashdod, Israel) (gang rapes in two different towns)
Case of the Unnamed Hadera Train Station Sex Offender (Haifa, Israel) (Accused of raping a pregnant woman)
Case of the Unnamed Haredi Israeli Soldier (Jerusalem, Israel) (An Israeli soldier serving in a predominantly haredi combat unit was under arrest for allegedly having sexual relations with several 16 year male teens in his room in the Soldier's House soldiers' quarters in Jerusalem.)
Case of an Unnamed Israeli Public Figure (Accused of committing indecent acts, including sodomy, on his stepson).
Case of the Unnamed Jaffa Teenage Serial Sex Offender (Arrested and confessed to molesting 20 children aged eight to 12 over the past half year).
Case of the Unnamed Jewish Youth Group Leader/Rabbinical Student (Queens, NY) (Accused of molesting an 11 year old boy in the basement of a synagogue).
Case of Unnamed Jewish Quarter child molester (Jerusalem, Israel) (suspicions in the quarter that the 16-year-old arrested by the police in 1988 had "taken the rap" for his older brothers, who are still on the loose. The youth was eventually institutionalized. This case involves a 5 year old male victim).
Case of the Unnamed Lakewood Rapist (Lakewood, NJ) (The attacker dragged his 19-year-old victim into his green Jeep Cherokee and used restraints to keep her there. He returned her to the gym about 5 a.m. Monday.)
Case of the Lower East Side Ex-Convict Unnamed Father (Arrested after admitting that he had sex with his 5-year-old daughter and later offered her up to another man (Ariel Berlin), who was a sexual partner of his).
Case of Unnamed Maccabi Haifa player, Israel (Accused of sexual abuse and assault)
Case of the Unnamed Maintenance Worker at Congregation Netzah Yisrael (Ashkelon, Israel) (Arrested and accused of sexually abusing a four-year-old girl at a city pre-school complex. The suspect has also been accused in another case - he was also questioned following similar allegations in Eilat. No indictment has emerged from the Eilat case).
Case of the Unnamed Man Wanted by the FBI Found in Israel (Los Angeles, CA; Eilat Israel) (The 47-year-old man, who is a US citizen was withheld by the police at the FBI's request, is suspected of serious sex crimes against several relatives, including his granddaughter)
Case of the Unnamed Man who Paid to have sex with a Mentally-Handicaped Girl (Central Israel) (Convicted of sexual assault, and was sentenced to 16 years in jail after paying the girls father to have sex with her).
Case of the Unnamed Man who Molested his Wifes Younger Siblings (Netanya, Israel) (Arrested after being accused of molesting wife's four siblings, three girls aged 5, 8 and 12 and a 3-year-old boy).
Case of the Unnamed Man from Ramle, Israel (A man was arrested after stabbing a 13 year old girl, over an argument over payment for her services).
Case of the Unnamed Abusive Mother from Netivot (Netivot, Israel)
Case of Unnamed Principal's Husband at the Tel Aviv Arts School (Tel Aviv, Israel)
Case of Unnamed Principal in a Brooklyn yeshiva (Brooklyn, NY) (Accused of molesting students)
Case of the Unnamed Repeat Sex Offender (Tel Aviv, Israel) (Convicted unnamed Sex offender sexually assaulted a nine-year-old girl. After choking her until she lost consciousness, the assailant rolled her up in a carpet and left her for dead outside).
Case of the Unnamed Rishon Letzion Rapist (A 13-year-old girl filed a complaint at a Rishon Letzion police station stating she had been sexually assaulted by two men).
Case of the Unnamed Safad Rapist (Safad, Israel) (Allegations were made that a man wearing hassidic garb sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl).
Case of the Unnamed Senior Driver Licensing Inspector And A Driving Instructor (Negev, Israel) (Arrested a senior driver licensing inspector and a driving instructor on suspicion of having offered to grant a young woman a license if she agreed to have sexual relations with both of them.)
Case of the Unnamed Serial Pedophile (Tel Aviv, Israel) (Man arrested this weekend on suspicion of sexually assaulting a 9-year-old girl who was found rolled up in a carpet.)
Case of the Unnamed 17-year old Rapist (Central Israel) (Accused of sexually assaulting a girl from his school for over two years).
Case of the Unnamed Seventy-eight-year old man from Jaffa, Israel (Charged with raping his friend's five- year-old daughter.)
Case of Unnamed Teacher in Eda Haredit School, Israel (Sexually molested at least two of the pupils in a school belonging to the hassidic sect)
Case of Unnamed Teacher at Michael Sobell Sinai School (England)
Case of the Unnamed Three Students from Bat Yam Yeshiva (Ayalon Region, Israel) (Three students aged 13-14 were arrested and confessed to the allegations of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old schoolmate)
Case of the Unnamed Two Sharon Region Absorption Center Rapist (Two Alleged rapists (aged 17 and 18) were arrested).
Case of the Unnamed Sibiling Incest (Zevulun, Israel) (Arrested after allegedly forcing his seven-year-old sister to have sexual relations with him several times).
Case of the Unnamed Six Male Teenagers (Kibbutz Shomrat, Israel) (Accused and Convicted of repeatedly sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl, over a period of several days on the kibbutz)
Case of the Unnamed Sixteen-year-old repeat sex offender (Tel Aviv, Israel) (Convicted of sexually assaulting a seven-year-old boy and confessed to sexually assaulting another child, who was his 10 year-old neighbor).
Case of Unnamed Sixty-year-old Man (Herzliya, Israel) (Charged with sexually abusing a neighborhood boy, 11, after inviting him to try his exercise bicycle in the basement).
Case of the Unnamed Sixty-four-year-old Neighbor (Tel Aviv, Israel) (Charged in Tel Aviv District Court with systematically raping and sexually assaulting a 20-year-old man over an 11-year-period).
Case of the Unnamed Synagogue Rapist (Jerusalem Israel) (Accused and arrested. 20 year old Jerusalem man was under arrest for sexually assaulting at least ten children in a city synagogue).
Case of the Three Unnamed Students from Bat Yam Yeshiva (Three students aged 13-14 were arrested and confessed to the allegations of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old schoolmate)
Case of Three Unnamed Female Teenagers who Beat and Sexually Assault Younger Girl (Rishon Letzion, Israel) (Accused of molesting at least 2 younger girls in the neighborhood).
Case of the Unnamed Two Sharon Region Absorption Center Rapist (Two Alleged rapists (aged 17 and 18) were arrested).
Case of Two Unnamed men from the West Bank village of Yata (Two men from the West Bank village of Yata have been arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing a teenage girl and enticing her to use drugs).
Case of Two Unnamed Students who attempted to Film Female Classmates (Holon, Israel) (Arrested after allegations were made that two high school students, both aged 16, attempted to film female classmates in the school's bathrooms).
Case of Unnamed Teacher Molesting Students (1853) (Accused of molesting students back in 1800's that were under the age of 13).
Case of Unnamed Thirty-five-year-old man from Bnei Brak, Israel (Arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting his neighbor and performing indecent acts on him).
Case of the Unnamed Thirty-three-year-old Man (Petah Tikva) (Accused of raping a colleague).
Case of the Unnamed Twenty-one-year-old Man (Beersheba, Israel) (Charged with raping a five-year-old girl whose mother had asked him to bring her home to a Beersheba absorption center from kindergarten).
Case of the Unnamed Yachting Instructor (Herzliya, Israel) (Arrested on suspicion of abusing four 11-year-olds)
Case of the Unnamed Youth Basketball Coach (Jerusalem, Israel) (Arrested after six youths complained to police).

Jerusalem mother charged with child abuse

2008-04-06T17:11:00.000-05:00

Jerusalem mother charged with child abuse

Indictment reveals rabbi instructed woman to 'repair' her children through 'beating, tying, burning organs and feeding them with faeces'

By Aviram Zino

YNet News

April 6, 2008

As her three-and-a-half-year-old comatose son continued to lie in his hospital bed, a Jerusalem woman was indicted Sunday by the Jerusalem District Court of abusing him and his four-and-a-half-year-old brother.

The court also indicted a family friend accused of conducting a "tikkun" (exorcism) on the children under the influence of a rabbi who fled to Canada.

Shortly after the indictment was submitted, the remand of another suspect involved in the affair was extended. The man, a acquaintance of the mother, allegedly took part in the abuse.

According to the indictment, "During the months of February and March, the accused and her children moved to her mother's apartment in Jerusalem. During this period, the mother found it difficult to cope with the burden of raining her small children, and particularly with their education.

"The defendant turned to a rabbi and asked for his advice in terms of his children's education. The rabbi concluded that the children were 'possessed' with evil spirits and advised the defendant and other suspects to carry out 'tikkunim' on the children in order to help them get rid of those demons."

The indictment went on to say that the rabbi instructed the mother to conduct "tikkunim" on the children – "meaning, jolting, beating, tying, burning organs, feeding them with faeces, and more.

"Two of the suspects were put in charge of educating the children, and systematically abused them and the defendant's other children in a large number of cases, for a long time, claiming that these 'tikkunim' were aimed at removing these evil spirits from the children."

Some of the acts of abuse were also described in the indictment. "The defendant, who knew about the abuse, continued to desert her children."

The mother was accused of "cooperating with some of the other suspects in forcibly jolting the children in at least 40 cases, grasping them in the back or shoulders, or grasping them in their hands and legs and shaking them with their heads moving back and forth and from side to side.

"The defendant and the other suspects also used to tie the children's hands and legs with plastic restraints and ropes for many hours, as well as hit one of the children in the face and bend his hands behind his back, throwing him in the air."

'Police veterans were shocked'

In one of her remand hearings, the police representative presented the judge with a photo album containing shocking pictures of the children.

"The Jerusalem Police veterans found it difficult to listen to such a shocking story," a police representative said during the previous hearing.

The mother admitted to the suspicions and went back on her confession, while the father and another person arrested denied the allegations.

"Evidence submitted to the court testifies to a long and harsh abuse," a police representative said during the hearing.

The small son, who was hospitalized at the Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital's intensive care unit, suffers from brain damage which has left him in a vegetative state.

Efrat Weiss contributed to this report

Survivors of sex Abuse Confront a Convicted Pedophile

2008-04-06T00:12:00.000-05:00

Jeremy Kyle Show
WARNING: Watching these film clips may be triggering for some survivors.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

More on the case of Rabbanit Bruria Keren

2008-04-04T18:51:00.000-05:00

Behind the veil
By Tamar Rotem
Haaretz

"It's necessary to dress like the holy matriarchs. To wear a shawl, a skirt and a petticoat. Longer, looser garments. There is no end to making oneself stronger in faith. Be modest and you will receive a reward from Heaven. It is explicitly written that redemption will come only by virtue of women. Modesty is the woman's commandment and there is no rabbi who will say that it is forbidden to dress this way. On the contrary - this is how women will dress when the Messiah comes." (This quotation and others are from an interview conducted by the author with the mother accused of abusing her children, Haaretz, November 2007)

The woman at the center of the Beit Shemesh abuse scandal wraps herself in a length of black cloth, which she also clings to stubbornly in the courtroom. The covering eradicates any inkling of sexuality and conceals her face - her identity - in the name of modesty. At the same time it provides a metaphor for the screen she has put up, impermeable to any kind of rationality or feeling. Her sisters, her mother and even her children have provided testimony to the police, and the indictment filed against her at the beginning of the week discloses harsh evidence of the mother's abuse of her children and of incest between the siblings.

Through the wall of concealment emerges the murky substance of emotional and psychological neglect that is concealed by messianic-religious fervor. The veil is a motif that flows through the woman's tragic story. In recent years, while acts of incest were being performed in her home, she preached to women to cover themselves beneath their veils with more and more layers of clothing, to cover every exposed part of their body including their face and hands, on which they wear men's socks, following her example. In the fanatic circles of Beit Shemesh, the idea caught on and she became a female "rabbi." Her disciples spread the word of her righteousness.

Religious strengthening

"There is nothing worse than a married womans' hair showing. A married woman should have her head covered and not by some other hair, as women's hair catches the eye and leads a man looking at her astray. It is impudence to dress up and lead a man astray... I had the privilege to make many women cast off their wigs... I have lectured in halls in front of hundreds of women and they just tear off their wigs."

On a Wednesday evening in the summer of 2006, intrigued by the chance sighting of ultra-Orthodox women dressed like Muslim women, I knocked on the door of her home. For a considerable number of months afterward I continued to attend her lessons, which were both repelling and fascinating. Marginal religious groups are happy for any new member and the "rabbi" greeted me without question and with inviting gestures. To me, the leader of the small group of women seemed a bizarre, rather colorful type, wrapped as she was in many layers of colored cloth. As a sign of her extreme righteousness, the women told me, she would observe speech "fasts" and talk only once a week, during the lesson.

When she began to speak, her voice sounded grating to me, and chilling. I attributed this to her long periods of silence. Yet, the women's laughter and gay chatter made me ignore the feeling that presaged ill. She was a guru, a healer and a spiritual advisor all in one. Her most devoted disciples refrained from going to conventional doctors and they and their children were treated only by her.

The lesson meandered spontaneously from one topic to the next, without any logic: an exhortation about matters of modesty followed by an apocalyptic description of the punishment for licentiousness, and homeopathic instruction. One by one, the women received advice about various aches and pains, what kind of bread to eat (whole wheat), how to read a certain chapter in the Book of Psalms, and - as a bonus - a recommendation to tighten their sphincter muscles when using the toilet.

The women talked about the difficulties of carrying out the tasks of prayers. They seemed to feel hot and they sat facing electric fans. They drew encouragement from their "rabbi" and the other group members. They admire the "rabbi."

To whom have they not compared her? To Queen Esther, to Ruth the Moabite and of course to Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah. All the women in Jewish history came to the fore to defend the thesis that it is necessary to wear long clothing as baggy as a tent. Like Muslim women. Nothing prepared the disciples for the harrowing turn the story would take. Ever since their "rabbi" was arrested, they have been in a state of total shock.

The woman who is under arrest is 54 years old, the mother of 12 children, four of whom are under the age of 18. She was raised in a remote moshav in the South, in a national religious family. After she and her husband, who was in the air force, married, the couple's religious faith strengthened. They became ultra-Orthodox and moved to Bnei Brak. About seven years ago they moved to Beit Shemesh, west of Jerusalem, where she began to wage a stubborn fight, in the form of lectures and assemblies, against the norm of ultra-Orthodox women wearing wigs in public.

About three years ago she began wearing a veil. Her husband did not follow in her path, but he did not stop her either. His lawyer would later depict him as a "present absentee," and as someone who is totally under his wife's control. During the lessons, he was always in the house, behind curtains that covered the open spaces.

In the wake of her move toward religious extremism, she married off her four older children - the ones who are now being spoken about in the context of incest - to spouses from the most hermetic and extreme stream of ultra- Orthodoxy. The matches of three out of the four did not work out well, and they divorced a short while later. Members of Beit Shemesh's ultra-Orthodox community related this week that those matches had been default choices for both sides. The girls were pretty, they explained, but the family was problematic. That is why they married the girls off when they were only 17, to older men or young men with disabilities, including mental illness. Two of the children who divorced have become secular.

About half a year ago, at the wedding of one of the daughters, who married for the second time, S., a sister of the accused, saw her for the first time with a group of her disciples, who were dressed like her. "They held her arms because she wasn't managing with the veil and she wasn't able to walk," relates the sister. "They kept rearranging the cloth on her head. She simply enjoyed being served by them. From time to time, she would get up to button up the bride or to put a shawl on her."

Ticking social bomb

"For 10 years now I have been observing a speech fast. This causes prayers to be better accepted. At home they are very accustomed to this and they live with me in joy and peace. It also prevents a lot of insolence from the children. People very much admire the relationship between me and my husband and the children."

S. is several years younger than the accused. She lives in a religious locale in the center of the country, and is married with children. For more than 10 years, S. stood on the sidelines, observing her sister's gradual move toward extremism, which was accompanied by neglect of her children. She says she could not remain indifferent to this. Although she was not aware of the extent of the children's abuse - as described in the indictment - she suspected that it existed. She learned of the incest only recently, but her descriptions indicate that the whole family was a ticking social bomb.

But no one wanted to hear about it. Over the years, S. alerted the Beit Shemesh municipality that the children were not attending school, that they were not being taken care of and that they were roaming the streets neglected and hungry, but in vain. "Fourteen years ago, when I visited her home in Bnei Brak, I was already alarmed. The house was a mess, totally wrecked. I saw a little boy sitting under the table. You could see he was suffering from cerebral palsy, but he wasn't being cared for. I tried to hug the girls and they recoiled. It looked like they weren't getting any attention from their parents."

Several years later, when she realized that four of the children weren't attending school at all, she contacted the municipality. "They sent a truant officer, who handed in a comprehensive report on how the children were neglected and really weren't going to school," says S. "But they didn't enforce his recommendations. After yelling and yelling, I'd get worn out. Months later I'd start sending letters again."

Twice she spoke about the neglect on the part of the Beit Shemesh welfare authorities on the Arutz Sheva station radio. In the wake of her becoming involved, the accused cut off all contact with her sister, apart from rare meetings at family weddings.

In 2006, the other children, especially the sons, contacted their grandmother and through her, got in touch with their two aunts, S. and E. They started spending Shabbat alternately with the grandmother and the aunts and, above all, they began to talk. "They'd simply grown up and were no longer under her control," says S.

The grandmother noticed abnormal behavior, especially between one brother and one sister. According to S., the sister started doing drugs and at some point she met a man who brought her into prostitution. S. again began to sound the alarm and to write letters. In the wake of great efforts, she managed to get her 17-year-old nephew into a therapeutic yeshiva in the North, with the father's agreement. The boy began talking with the yeshiva's social worker, who later revealed the entire scandal.

The boy told his grandmother and his aunts about his visits in Beit Shemesh and how he saw the younger children roaming around hungry, neglected and filthy in the streets. S. immediately contacted the town's education and welfare departments. The head of the welfare department wrote to her that a social worker would be in touch with the family and that "we will make an effort to help the children with every means at our disposal." Additionally, a truant officer was sent, who paid a visit to each of the schools the children were enrolled in, and found that the children were attending.

In August 2007, S. complained to the Welfare Ministry's appeals committee that the Beit Shemesh municipality had not involved any agency that could examine the mother's ability to parent and care for her children. The director of the Welfare Ministry's Jerusalem district responded: "Because of the right to privacy, we will not be able to continue to share information about the treatment of that family." It should be noted that nothing at all was done.

The father of the accused died on the same day the mentally disabled son was found wandering outside the home, hungry and dizzy, after he had spent the entire night outside the house, crying, while his mother refused to let him in. S. believes there is a connection between this incident and her father's death. She says the root of the abnormal behavior should be sought in their nuclear family (eight siblings - five sisters and three brothers). "Our father used to beat us all. My mother was a weak woman who did not manage to protect us." Of her sister she says: "All these years she has been looking for love. She fantasizes about greatness. She tried to become an outstanding homeopath and it didn't work. Then she became a saint."

'Her day has come' "It is very difficult for me, all this. Not to leave the house. Not to talk. To cover myself up. But all those years I was guided from Heaven. And anyway I always hated leaving the house... I am not a female rabbi. They decided to call me a 'rabbi,' and no matter how much I explain to them that I am not a rabbi, it doesn't help. I always pray that people will not honor me and will not say that I am a saint, because that isn't true at all." At court and in jail, the accused is mostly wrapped in total darkness, spending most of the time under the blanket that covers her. She is neither eating nor drinking, because of her vegan diet, which the jail has a hard time accommodating. But she is not cut off. She speaks freely with her lawyer, Vered Birger from the Public Defender's Office. Birger relates that at their very first meeting the woman gave her a detailed lecture on the subject of modesty. But Birger says she respects her. "I came in a skirt that stops above the knee. She asked me to change it. I didn't wear it again when I went to see her." Does she feel that her client is manipulating her? "I respect her beliefs," Birger replies. But the accused does stipulate conditions through the veil. During interrogations, she refused to speak if a male investigator was present. On Tuesday she did not speak in the District Court, in the presence of the male judge. "She enjoys being in control," says her sister S. "Why do they believe her? After all, she is continuing to deceive and it's impossible to deceive people all of the time. Her day has come," she continues. "And I hope for her sake that they will help her and give her treatment." None of the women from the veiled circle came to see their leader at court. "The lying media are out to get us, the women with the cloth," T., one of her most fervent disciples, told me. "I am afraid that they will attack me. In the street, too, they are pointing at us. But are we going to stop going outside? Let them hide. I walk down the street with a wonderful feeling of who I am. And I have chosen to dress this way not only because of our rabbi." This week she came to the courthouse to sign bail for the accused and collected small donations from fans of the "rabbi," amounting to NIS 20,000 - an astronomical sum for predominantly poor people. She has also offered to host the "rabbi" under house arrest in her home. However, the group's leading spokeswoman has refrained from taking such a step. In fact, a conversation with her seems to indicate that she is dissociating herself from the "rabbi," even though, like T., she has denied the charges against the accused. Dr. David Green, a clinical psychologist from the Green Institute for Advanced Psychology, in Tel Aviv, and an expert on cults, believes the arrest and the charges will not break up the group. Another and larger wave of women will join what he calls a cult. "We are becoming stronger in our faith," says T. She tells of modesty assemblies in Beit Shemesh, Acre and Ramle. "Everything in this world is a disguise; you should know that," she tells me at the end of a conversation, during which she condemned the media, the police and the court. "Just as some people disguise themselves as police and judges, we have chosen to disguise ourselves as the holy matriarchs and to cover ourselves. Behind the mask hides a saintly woman. In the war of Gog and Magog everyone will ask her forgiveness. And she will forgive."

Case of Cantor Naftali Hershtik

2008-04-04T13:05:00.000-05:00

World-Famous Cantor Allegedly the Target of Entrapment Plot
Scheme Said To Have Involved Hidden Hotel Camera

By Anthony Weiss
Thu. Apr 03, 2008
Forward
Naftali Hershtik, the cantor of the Great Synagogue in Jerusalem, has been the target of an entrapment scheme allegedly orchestrated by one of his former students, according to information obtained exclusively by the Forward.

The rumors began weeks ago, when Israeli papers reported that an unnamed cantor had been lured by a young woman into a hotel room wired with a hidden camera, in an attempt to trap the cantor in a compromising position. The Forward has learned from sources close to the case that the target of the entrapment was Hershtik — one of the most famed and respected cantors in the world — and that the man being accused of arranging the plot is Israel Rand, a former student of Hershtik’s.

Photographs of Hershtik, 60, and the young woman, taken by a hidden camera, were sent anonymously to Hershtik’s employer, the Jerusalem Great Synagogue, in an apparent attempt to have Hershtik fired, according to synagogue officials. The Great Synagogue suspended Hershtik, but has since reinstated him, and its officials there are now defending the star cantor.

“It’s a classic case of entrapment except for one fact — that, to my knowledge, the chazzan [cantor] did not fall into that trap of any consequence,” said Rabbi David Fuld, president of the Great Synagogue’s board. Fuld said he reviewed photographs that were sent to the synagogue and that they showed “nothing of significance” that happened between Hershtik and the young woman.

Israeli papers reported this week that the Israeli Ministry of Justice had drafted indictments against a prominent cantor and several others for their roles in the scheme. In an e-mail message to the Forward, David Fadida, a spokesman for Rand, said: “To the best of my knowledge and for your information, there has been no draft indictment by the Israeli Ministry of Justice!” When asked if Rand was involved in the attempt to entrap Hershtik, Fadida denied it, saying that Rand would have no reason to attempt to entrap the “prominent cantor” because Rand is better paid. Fadida accused Hershtik of attempting to divert attention to Rand from himself because “he was coughted [sic] with young women in hotel.”

Although rumors have abounded in the Israeli press speculating why Rand might have attempted to ensnare Hershtik, the Forward has been unable to confirm this information.

The scandal turns the spotlight onto the universe of star cantors, where celebrity and flamboyant artistry intermingle with the demands of religious piety. Hershtik is one of the world’s most revered and influential cantors, credited with almost single-handedly sustaining and reviving the classical cantorial arts. Rand, who was born in 1963, is considered one of the rising stars of the new generation of cantors whom Hershtik helped train.

In both stature and pedigree, Hershtik is in ways a throwback to the so-called “Golden Age of Cantors,” the period from the late-19th century until World War II, when cantors commanded princely salaries, drew throngs of worshippers to their services, and sold hundreds of thousands of records. This era began to wane in the postwar years, as the grand cantorial style was largely supplanted by more informal, participatory services.

Born in Hungary to a cantorial family and raised in Israel, Hershtik functions in this classical cantorial tradition of Eastern Europe. He emerged as a major cantor in the early 1970s, as the cantor of London’s Finchley Synagogue.

Perhaps even more importantly, in 1984 Hershtik co-founded the Tel Aviv Cantorial Institute, a school that trains cantors in the classical style, and which has taught many of today’s most important and celebrated cantors, including Yitzhak Meir Helfgot, Eric Moses and Gideon Zelermeyer.

One of those students was Rand, who is still listed on the school’s Web site as one of its prized students. In addition to a successful concert career, Rand was cantor at the Hampton Synagogue and its New York City affiliate, the New York Synagogue, from 1994 to 2005. Both synagogues are led by Rabbi Mark Schneier, and both have risen to prominence, and attracted wealthy members, in part because of their programs of cantorial music.

According to his Web site, Rand is currently the chief cantor at the Great Synagogue of Ramat Gan for the High Holidays. In a twist worthy of soap opera, his old position at Schneier’s operation is now held by Netanel Hershtik, Naftali Hershtik’s son and a prominent and respected cantor in his own right.

In 1982, Naftali Hershtik was hired as cantor of the newly constructed Jerusalem Great Synagogue and promptly established the synagogue as one of the international centers of cantorial music. Founded in 1982, the Great Synagogue is where Israel’s power elite come to pray. (The Israeli papers have reported that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, President Shimon Peres, Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu and Supreme Court President Dorit Beinish, among others, have all attended the Great Synagogue during the High Holidays.) Hershtik performed at the Great Synagogue and, when on tour, arranged for other preeminent cantors to make appearances in his stead. Over time, these Great Synagogue cameos became prized as premier platforms for both established and aspiring cantors.

The entrapment story first appeared in the press when the newspaper Yediot Aharonot reported that a tape had been discovered in a private investigator’s office during an unrelated raid. None of the dramatis personae was named. On March 17, the Israeli newspaper Maariv reported that a young woman claiming to be a graduate student in musicology approached a “world leading cantor” and asked to interview him for a paper on “cantorial art and liturgy.” She allegedly called him several weeks later with follow-up questions and asked him to meet her at her hotel.

Pictures taken by a camera in the hotel room were then sent to the Great Synagogue, arriving sometime before Rosh Hashanah of 2007. Great Synagogue officials familiar with the contents of the tape contested a report in Yediot Aharonot claiming the tape depicted a sordid sexual affair.

There was “no passionate sex,” said Zelli Jaffe, vice president of the Great Synagogue’s board, who told the Forward he has seen the entire tape. “No sex.”

Nevertheless, on February 11, Asher Schapiro, the chairman of the Great Synagogue’s board, sent Hershtik a letter stating that “we have decided you will no longer appear as a cantor at this synagogue.” Fuld told the Forward that the letter was sent without the board’s authorization, that it has been retracted, and that Hershtik remains the Great Synagogue’s cantor.

According to Jaffe, Hershtik has sued the Great Synagogue, a suit that is still pending. In addition, he filed a complaint with the police concerning the scheme.

Hershtik, meanwhile, continues to tour and perform. Over the Sabbath of March 28 and 29, Hershtik and the choir from the Tel Aviv Cantorial Institute appeared at the New York Synagogue before a packed audience. Although most of the singing was done by the institute’s students, and by Netanel Hershtik, Naftali Hershtik did lead a few prayers, demonstrating his still-powerful tenor voice. Both the Friday evening and Saturday morning services closed with duets between the two Hershtiks.

Jaffe said he expects Naftali Hershtik to lead services at the Great Synagogue this coming Sabbath.

Luke Ford on Mordechai Gafni, Saul Berman, Stephen Marmer and Joseph Telushkin

2008-04-04T01:34:00.000-05:00

Alleged sex offender/ cult leader - Marc Gafni
I received the following e-mail with the youtube links of Luke Ford rambling on about the case of "rabbi" Marc Gafni. It's been along time since this case was really in the news, yet it's one we can not forget!

According to the most recent information, Marc Gafni is in Salt Lake City, UT hanging out in the Buddhist community, with Diane Hamilton (AKA: Musho Sensei). Hamilton believes she can cure Gafni of his confessed sexual predatory behaviors.

I thought Luke's comments were interesting, yet I'm a bit apprehensive about posting the links here since I have issues with other youtube videos he has posted.

Part 4 is about how Luke got connected with Joseph Telushkin. After a few mintues he goes on to the Gafni case.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

NWCP of Baltimore - Tzedaka Boxes? What About Child Molesters?

2008-04-03T20:21:00.002-05:00

The following message was forward. I found this shocking Wouldn't it be great if the Baltimore community cared as much for it's children as it does tzedaka boxes? Has the NWCP sent out a notice regarding any of the known child molesters in the Baltimore community? I'm told that the NWCP is housed in Rabbi Moshe Heinemann's synagogue.

Please write to the NWCP and ask them to send out notices regarding sex offenders too!
Contact Information:
Phone: 410-664-6927
Fax: 410-764-6203
E-mail: office@nwcp.info

From: NWCP Alerts
Date: Thu, Apr 3, 2008
Subject: Advisory Information from the NWCP

The Baltimore Police would like the community to be aware of the following information:

The person in the attached pictured is a strong suspect in after-hours theft of tzedaka boxes in shuls in the community. This individual poses as a frum Jew, but is, in fact, not. This individual does have a prior history of arrest, including charges of theft and criminal trespass.

This individual should not be left alone in any shul, at any time of day or night. The police also advise the community to lock up their pushkas during non-davening times, and ensure that other valuables are safely stored.

Name: Leo Rossman
Age: 52
Height: 5-6
Weight: 140 lbs

Law Professor Marci Hamilton on Teens at Tranquility Bay

2008-04-03T08:17:00.001-05:00

Two Lawsuits Draw Attention to the Abuse Suffered by Troubled U.S. Teenagers Sent to Boot Camps Abroad: Why the State Department Should Push for an International Prohibition
By Marci Hamilton
FindLaw: Legal News and Commentary
April 3, 2008
----

Teenagers, even the ones who are stars at school and elsewhere, can be a challenge. Those who take a wrong turn toward drugs or gangs, to cite just two examples, can be very difficult to handle. Thus, it has not been uncommon in the United States for parents in such desperate straits to send their children to military schools or to wilderness camps.

There is also a third choice, however, which was in the news last week: teen boot camps. This choice, as I will explain, should be made illegal around the globe -- with the U.S. State Department taking a leading role in protecting U.S.-based (and, if possible, foreign) teens who suffer abuse abroad.

The Tranquility Bay Lawsuit and the State Department's Response

Recently, attorney Joshua Ambush filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a public interest organization in Washington, DC, against the Department of State. The suit alleged that State Department regulations establish an obligation on the part of the U.S. government to prevent the abuse of American children abroad.

In particular, the suit urged that the State Department needed to immediately investigate the abuse that American teenager Isaac Hersh had allegedly suffered at a boot camp in Jamaica called Tranquility Bay.

It is to the State Department's credit that it took the lawsuit very seriously, and quickly aided in Isaac's release from what appear to have been torturous conditions. At first, Isaac's parents, who reside in New York, tried to block his release. However, eventually they were persuaded to permit Yeshiva University professor and psychologist David Pelcovitz to accompany Isaac back to New York. Pelcovitz interviewed Isaac in Jamaica, in the presence of a United States embassy official; determined that Isaac had been abused; and brought him back to the United States for treatment and for his safety.

The good news is that Isaac was rescued; the sad truth is that many children still reside at Tranquility Bay and in other boot camps around the world.

Another Suit Alleges Abuse At the Behest of the World Wide Association of Specialty Camps and Schools

Fortunately, a pending lawsuit filed in federal court in Utah aims to make some headway against these institutions. The defendant is the World Wide Association of Specialty Camps and Schools, based in George, Utah. The plaintiffs are 140 victims of teen boot camps (including Tranquility Bay). The suit alleges that they suffered severe physical and emotional abuse at the hands of the camps -- including being forced to eat their own vomit, having their hands and feet bound, being locked in dog cages, being forced to reside in isolation, being placed in painful postures for long periods of time, being deprived of food, and being deprived of any education.

From even this sketchy description, it seems obvious that these so-called "boot camps" are nothing more than modern-day torture chambers.

Once again, just as in the arena of childhood sexual abuse in the Catholic Church and outside it, it has taken a number of adults, working in tandem, to create the conditions for such horrible treatment of children. Once again, terrible crimes have been committed against children by the very adults who were supposed to protect them. It is up to the national and international legal community to now ensure their safety by shutting down these camps and making their practices illegal.

It Is High Time for the Federal and State Governments to Aggressively Target Teen Boot Camps and Those Who Patronize and Enable Them

When parents send a child to such a boot camp, and support it with their payments, they are creating the opportunity for such abuse. Accordingly, those parents who were aware of the camps' nature, yet still sent their children there, should be held fully accountable under the law: They essentially have paid third parties to abuse their children on their behalf. Moreover, the camps, their owners, their employees, and the government agencies that look the other way should also face serious legal repercussions.

With Isaac Hersh's story still fresh in everyone's mind, it is the right time for the State Department, Congress, and the state legislatures to initiate all the action needed to shut down the camps operating in the states, exert great pressures to shut down the ones operating abroad, and exact heavy penalties on those operating abroad when U.S. minors are abused there. As I have argued in past columns such as this one, the platforms of the national political parties should have a plank that speaks to protecting children from harm. This is a nonpartisan issue; thus, each of the three remaining viable candidates for President should include the protection of children as one of his or her highest priorities.

Like the international trafficking of children for sex, the ugly international subuniverse of boot camps causes massive suffering, and thus demands that fast, decisive, and harsh action be taken.

Marci A. Hamilton is a Visiting Professor of Public Affairs and the Kathleen and Martin Crane Senior Research Fellow at the Program in Law and Public Affairs at Princeton University. An archive of her columns on church/state issues - as well as other topics -- can be found on this site. Professor Hamilton's most recent work is God vs. the Gavel: Religion and the Rule of Law (Cambridge University Press 2005), now available in paperback. Professor Hamilton's forthcoming book, which will be published this spring is entitled Justice Denied: What America Must Do to Protect Its Children(Cambridge 2008).

FREE ISAAC From The Insanity

2008-04-02T13:20:00.001-05:00

Isaac Hersh Is Not Safe and NEEDS to be in Houston
© (2008) Vicki Polin, MA, NCC, LCPC, Executive Director
The Awareness Center, Inc.

It saddens me to say that Isaac Hersh continues to be used as a pawn. It appears that his father (Michael Hersh), has difficulties seeing Isaac as anything other then an object. He is not looking at what's in the best interest of his child.

It has already been established that Isaac Hersh made allegations of being physically abused by his father while he was living in Israel. Because of the abuse and various other issues his father allegedly agreed to allow Isaac and his brother live in Houston, TX -- with a family friend, Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe.

The Wolbe is a home in which Isaac was provided unconditional love and stability. It is also the home in which his twin brother resides.

According to mental health professionals who are familiar with this case, it is in Isaac Hersh's best interest to return to the Wolbe home immediately. Unfortunately, Child Protective Services and the courts in New York are not looking at Isaac's desperate need to be in a stress free environment, one in which he is familiar and which is away from the insanity, while the legal matters are being addressed.

Currently, Isaac Hersh is staying in the home of Steve (Shlomo Zackheim). The home is smack in the middle of the war zone. It's been reported that Zackheim is a friend of Michael Hersh, and is someone who Rabbi Ahron Schechter has control over.

What is needed is an emergency court order granting Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe temporary legal guardianship, so that Issac can return to his normal routine and begin his healing process. A traumatized child cannot heal while he is in the middle of a psychological war zone. Isaac Hersh NEEDS to be in Houston, under the care of the Wolbe's. Isaac Hersh to be in a safe place, with individuals he knows, trusts and loves.

Does Anyone Know How Isaac Hersh is doing?

2008-04-01T19:49:00.001-05:00

Isaac Hersh
It's been several days since any one reported on how Isaac Hersh is doing. Does anyone know know where he is or who's taking care of him? It's shocking that this case is not making headline news in internationally.

There are many of us who are very concerned about Isaac's siblings who are still living in the home of alleged "child beater", Michael Hersh. Does anyone know if child protection has taken custody of the children -- or has Michael Hersh been able to manipulate them into thinking he's a safe parent?

I personally believe the safest place for Isaac Hersh is back in Texas with his twin brother. I also think the rest of the Hersh children should be sent down there too. They all need to be reunited with each other in a safe environment away from the insanity of Brooklyn. They need to be in a place in which healing is a possibility and where they can receive unconditional love and not be used in some sort of pawn in a rabbinical war.

Does anyone know what's happening with the rest of the children who are being held as prisoners at Tranquility Bay? Where is the public outrage? Why isn't everyone demanding that the national news media do a story about this?

I think Isaac Hersh is still in danger as I think all the children stuck at that "reform school".

(UK) Orthodox Synagogue Bans Convicted Sex Offender

2008-04-01T11:05:00.001-05:00

Stanmore bans child sex offender from shul

By Leon Symons

Jewish Chronicle

May 11, 2007

A leading Orthodox synagogue has chosen to ban indefinitely a convicted child sex offender, due to be released from prison later this year, who wanted to return to pray in its congregation.

Andrew Josephs, 29, a member of Stanmore Synagogue in North-West London and a former teacher at Michael Sobell Sinai primary school, was convicted in February last year of sexually abusing two barmitzvah boys he was teaching. He was sentenced at Wood Green Crown Court to two years and nine months in prison, and is due to be released in July.

In a letter to the synagogue's members, warden Dr Nigel de Kare Silver said the decision to ban Josephs had been reached only after a lengthy consultation exercise carried out by a specially appointed committee.

Dr de Kare Silver said: "Following this consultation exercise and further discussions with the board of management and the United Synagogue, the special committee recommended that the honorary executive and ministers exclude the individual concerned from synagogue premises and activities, and that such exclusion should be indefinite."

He said the recommendation had been accepted by all parties and that Josephs and his family had been told.

The letter also made it clear that "any other individual who has been charged or convicted of similar offences... unless individual circumstances require otherwise, that individual will also be excluded from the synagogue premises".

The special committee, which included synagogue ministers Rabbis Mendel Lew and Andrew Shaw, consulted police, probation services, child agencies and the United Synagogue.

Initially the synagogue asked the US if it had a child-protection policy and was told it did not, so it drew up its own. A draft document from the US, setting out its own guidelines on child protection, was published last week at the same time as Stanmore's decision went out to its members.

On the advice of the US trustees, Stanmore sent a questionnaire to synagogue members with children, asking whether Josephs should have either limited, or no access, at the synagogue.

Stanmore's decision drew praise from the US and also the Reform and Liberal movements, which are drawing up their own joint child-protection document.

The US document covers all aspects of child protection but falls short of recommending the total banning of convicted sex offenders from its synagogues.

It states: "Children should be protected from those who have committed offences against children, even after any sentence of the court has expired."

It adds that synagogues should be notified in advance of sex offenders' attendance, that they should be restricted to events where children are not present, and that they must be accompanied at all times, even to the bathroom.

A US spokesman said: "The US is extremely respectful of the very difficult decision that Stanmore's honorary officers reached, taking into account all the relevant circumstances.

"The US document is advisory: it cannot be prescriptive because there are a number of communities which have particular circumstances about which they will need to react."

Debi Penhey, communities consultant at Leo Baeck College, who is overseeing a child-protection policy for the progressive movements, commented: "I am not surprised the synagogue has banned him. I think one would have to, because the majority of people in a synagogue would be so scared and nervous. The welfare of the community as a whole has to come first."

Rabbi Jeremy Gordon - We must never tolerate child abuse

2008-04-01T11:02:00.000-05:00

We must never tolerate child abuse
By Rabbi Jeremy Gordon

(UK) Jewish Chronicle
October 5, 2007

It has been a bad month for Anglicans. In the space of two weeks, a church choirmaster, Peter Halliday, then a vicar, David Smith, were convicted of crimes associated with paedophilia. As a Jew and a father, I read these stories in fear of what might be happening in some horrendous dark alleyway of our own community. I desperately want to believe that no God-fearing Jew could fall so low, but I know that keeping kosher provides no protection from the sin of child abuse.

Rabbi Baruch Lanner, the charismatic one-time hero of American Orthodox Union youth group NCSY, is languishing in jail, guilty of "sexual contact" with a minor. Other allegations suggest Lanner's career of abuse lasted 20 years and destroyed the childhoods of many. Meanwhile Baltimore's Jewish community is reeling as a slew of abuse allegations are levelled at the late principal of the city's Talmudical Academy. Again, the allegations are numerous and stretch over decades.

It is not that Jewish paedophilia is solely an Orthodox problem; both American Reform and Conservative denominations have suffered recent moments of shame, with Rabbis Jerrold Levy (Reform) and David Kaye (Conservative) currently serving time for offences relating to child sexual abuse. Yet the strictly Orthodox world has a particularly poor record of facing up to these appalling acts of depravity. Accusations against Rabbi Lanner first surfaced in 1989, but a court made up of leading rabbis from Yeshiva University failed to castigate him, instead attacking the complainant, Elie Hiller. It took 14 more years and another score of abuse allegations before the dayanim, or judges, recanted their position.

"I realise the terrible pain my deeds, or words, inflicted on Elie Hiller and other victims," said Rav Mordechai Willig, who sat on the rabbinical court, in 2003. "In retrospect we should have refused to hear the abuse case. We didn't realise that abusive behaviour could inhibit potential witnesses and distort the testimony of those who do appear." The rabbis, he was admitting, were out of their depth and should have called in experts, be they police or social workers.

It is not clear that anything has been learnt from this terrible case. Several key figures at the Harvard of the strictly Orthodox world, Brooklyn's Yeshiva Torah Temimah, are being sued for covering up allegations of abuse by a long-time teacher at the school. The accusation, which is denied, is that highly respected figures in the strictly Orthodox world refused to hear evidence against a rabbi. Since the first complainant came forward, many others have emerged and the rabbi at the centre of the furore is now facing criminal charges.

In Baltimore, accusations levelled at a long-time teacher have prompted Orthodox leader Rabbi Moshe Heinemann to sign a letter calling for more action in tackling abuse, while simultaneously calling for a boycott of the Jewish newspaper that made the accusations public.

It is easy, from a rabbinic perspective, to understand the reluctance to deal with accusations of sexual abuse. Rules against lashon hara — speaking ill — are designed to limit gossip, particularly if accusations are unfounded. Rabbis also wish to protect kavod harav — a sage's honour — and do not want to create a shandah, a scandal that could damage the community at large. But these principles come close to creating an abusers' charter.

More dangerous still is the issue of mesirah, turning to secular authorities, viewed by sections of the strictly Orthodox world as a kind of treason. Reluctance may be easy to understand, but it cannot be allowed to override other religious imperatives that guide those who lead religious communities — obligations to support the powerless, criticise that which demands criticism and protect the health and well-being of those we serve.

An unfounded accusation causes enormous distress, but we cannot risk even one case of a child victim's suffering being ignored. In the UK, all religious organisations, youth movements and Jewish social-service agencies need policies that set out how to deal with accusations of abuse in advance of any complaint; indeed, many excellent policies do exist. But we also need a cross-communal, inter-denominational commitment to establish and follow best practice. Outside of some excellent work with youth movements, supported by the UJIA, this does not happen. Furthermore, all denominations need to ensure that professionals trained in the secular world — police, social workers, psychologists and others — are called on to guide communal leaders who lack specific expertise and training in these areas.

This week, the United Synagogue has published a draft document on child protection, including how to deal with cases such as the release into the community of convicted child sex abuser and one-time barmitzvah tutor, Andrew Josephs . May they be blessed with courage and humility and may they never forget who they first need to protect.

Jeremy Gordon is rabbi of St Albans Masorti Synagogue

The Case of Malka Leifer, Ner Israel, The Weinberg Family and Bnei Brak

2008-03-30T22:24:00.001-05:00

Malka Leifer
From The Awareness Center's Daily Newsletter

Also see the case of School Principal - Malka Leifer
Please note that it was learned that the case of Malka Leifer has connections to Ner Israel and the Weinberg Family. More information to follow soon.

Police: Bnei Brak has by far the highest rate of sexual offenses
By Roni Singer-Heruti
Haaretz
March 31, 2008

Police investigating suspicions that a sex predator is wandering about in Bnei Brak said Sunday that they believe there are more cases of sex-related crimes in that city than in any other locale in Israel.

"The number of sex offenses in the Bnei Brak area is higher than any other city by tens of percentage points, and it is clear to us that we do not know about many cases that are not even reported because of the well-known fact that in the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) community, there is great reluctance about reporting such incidents," a senior police officer in the Tel Aviv District said.

The Dan Region police received reports of 10 sexual assaults of girls in recent months. Two cases involved rape; the rest were instances either of attempted rape or indecent assault. In all cases the girls, aged approximately 12, gave a similar description of their assailant, who they said wore the garb of a specific Haredi community, and used the same modus operandi in his assaults. The suspect followed his victims and then attacked them in the yard or the lobby of a residential building.

However, police are also exploring the possibility that more than one assailant is involved.

In recent months the police have been tightening their relations with rabbis in Bnei Brak as a way of countering the attacks. According to police sources, the cooperation has often been successful and the rabbis have encouraged parents to complain about sexual assaults perpetrated on their children.

"Contrary to the past there is greater trust in the police [among the Haredi community] and less shame in filing a complaint. We recognize these phenomena that occur occasionally, and recently there have been many publications in the city, which have warned children about sexual predators," a senior public figure from Bnei Brak told Haaretz Sunday.

"Now the approach tends to be inclined toward involving the police as soon as possible after we learn that the attack has taken place. More than ever there are reports in various places, especially in schools and in letters to the parents, warning against the phenomena that threaten the children," the local source added.

He explained that there are mediators whose role is to liaise between the families and the police.

However, police sources still say that "the number of complaints that are filed is far from being high," adding that they are aware that in reality, there are many more instances of sexual assault which police only learn about through their intelligence sources.

The information is often received from "messengers" who are members of the religious courts of individual rabbis, and who disseminate rumors, recommending that the police investigate them.

A week ago, a 33-year-old resident of Lod was arrested in Bnei Brak on suspicion of sexually assaulting a teenager who returned home late one night. The suspect, who has been indicted, followed the teen and her friend, and assaulted one of them. As they fled, he chased one of them and attacked her in the lobby of the building where she lived. Her father and brother heard her screams and came to her aid, and the assailant was arrested.

Police say that "this is a widespread phenomenon and children are harmed by it. The problem is that this is a closed community where it is not customary to report such cases. Thus sexual assailants, and other kinds of criminals, know they can operate without fear in Bnei Brak, and know that the chances that complaints will be filed against them is minimal."

Nonetheless, police stressed that "the community in Bnei Brak knows the situation a lot better than us."

Mind Control, Cults and Jewish Survivors of Sexual Trauma

2008-03-30T20:54:00.000-05:00

With the number of cases coming out in the Jewish community that have cult like leaders I wanted to share the following links that I found on The Awareness Center's site:

Video: on the Strategic Interaction Approach - Steven Hassan

Alleged and Convicted Cases of Spiritual Abuse in Jewish Communities

Case of Rabbi Yoram Aberjil (Netivot, Israel) (Accused of cult like practices, sexual harassment of young women and threatening the lives of his victims and those who advocated for them)
Case of Rabbi Ephraim Bryks (Winnipeg, Canada, New York, NY) (Accusations about sexual inappropriate behavior with children started surfacing in the 1980's.)
Case of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach (Accused of several cases of child molestation, and sexual assault of young women)
Case of Rabbi Mordechai Gafni - AKA: Marc Winiarz, Marc Gafni, Mordechai Winiarz (New York, Florida, Los Angeles, Israel) (Accused sexual assault of teenage girls, attempted sexual assault of a young adult female, and of cult like practices)
Case of Werner Erhard (AKA: John Paul Rosenberg) Founder EST (Accused of incest, which were later recanted. Also accused of cult like practices)
Case of Jacob Frank and the Frankist Movement (Accused of cultic type practices and sexual offenses)
Case of Bruria Keren (Beit Shemish, Israel) (Accusedof molested her twelve children and other children in the community and also of cult like practices)
Rabbi Mahluf Aminadav Krispin (Kiryat Bialik, Israel) (Accused of sexual assault and cult like practices)
Case of Malka Leifer - School Principal (Elsternwick, Australia, Tel Aviv, Israel; Bnai Brak Israel) (Accused of molesting several female students and cult like practices)
Case of Rabbi Michael Ozair - aka: Rabbi Michael Ezra, Rabbi Michael Ezra Ozair (Beverly Hills, CA) (Convicted, pleaded no contest to oral copulation with a 14-year-old minor.)
Case of Martin H. Stein, MD (Accused of using mind control techniques on a minor. Stripped of his medical licenses in Virginia and the District for negligence, inappropriate and excessive prescribing of drugs for patients as young as 4 and sexually intimate behavior with a patient).
Case of Rabbi Mordecai Tendler (Monsey, NY) (Accused of cultic type practices and sexual offenses)
Case of Rabbi Isadore Trachtman (Chicago, IL and Jerusalem, Israel) (Accused of cultic type practices and sexual offenses)
Rabbi Aharon Schechter and Tranquility Bay Reform School (Jamaica, West Indies) (Accused of knowing a school was using mind control techniques on minors).
Case of Rabbi Hershy Worch ( Manchester, England; Mbale, Uganda; Melbourne, Australia; Pawtucket, RI; Istanbul, Turkey; Chicago, IL) (Accused of cultic type practices and sexual offenses)
Case of Rabbi Matis Weinberg (Baltimore, MD, Santa Clara, CA and Har Nof, Israel) (Accused of cultic type practices and sexual offenses)
Case of Sabbatai Zevi (Smyrna; Turkey; Greece; Egypt; Palestine)